Lycanthrope
by Evelos
Summary: No one ever said having a werewolf girlfriend would be easy. - Continuation of the lycan subplot in Wyrmglow.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of rain held her attention, and Lightning took a moment just to focus on it, slowly envisioning the way it must have been pattering against the roof of the apartment complex.

"You've been getting enough sleep, right?" Serah kept spreading paint beside one of the windows, where the glass was speckled with delicate raindrops. "Neighbors aren't keeping you up?"

Lightning almost wanted to snarl at the memory of such sharp, blaring music. "There's this wonderful little invention called 'earplugs'..."

Serah giggled. "Hey, at least they turn it off before ten." She looked over at Lightning again, watching the way that she started to paint the part of the wall nearest to the ceiling. "Oh, I forgot to mention... The couple on our other side; they came over to introduce themselves while you were at work, yesterday."

Lightning nearly frowned at the mention of her job.

"Did you notice the cookies on the counter?" Serah smiled, before she turned back towards her own part of the room, careful not to spill more than a drop or two of paint on the tarp beneath her. "They brought those over, isn't that nice?"

Lightning shrugged. "They probably wanted to make sure you weren't a drug dealer."

Serah scoffed at the thought of that. "Oh yeah, little old me, slinging _drugs_ around?" She dipped her paintbrush back down into the can, before she began to spread it all out over the wall, layering it just as evenly as she could. "I mean... I've never tried it, but I've heard that certain-"

"Serah." Lightning glanced back over her shoulder. "There will not be anything illegal in this apartment... Is that clear?"

Serah looked over as well. "Other than existing, _sure_."

Lightning fought the urge to snap at such a notion, so she turned away again, back to painting the wall. "Technically, we aren't illegal." She brought her voice down to a low whisper. "Just legal to kill."

Serah sighed, but she just kept painting her side of the room. "Could we not talk about this right now?"

"Sure." Lightning fell silent again.

"Could we talk about _something_ , though?" Serah reached for another dab of paint. "How's work?"

Lightning glanced over at the window, gazing out at all of the thin streaks of rain upon the glass. "It's fine. How's school?"

Serah almost scowled. "Light, when I ask you about work-"

"I carried crates around the harbor for about five hours, ate lunch, and then I carried even more crates." Lightning tried not to make her words bite; she spoke just as gently as she could. "Serah, how's school?"

Serah frowned a little. "Well, the new classes are fine so far... There's a professor there, she's really nice; during study hall, I told her that I was new in town, and she actually offered to write up a map of the best places downtown, restaurants and stuff."

Lightning paused. "...Why weren't you studying during study hall?"

Serah shook her head. "I finished early, and almost everyone in there was talking about the weekend, anyway."

Lightning just went back to coating the walls in paint, though she couldn't help but wish that her little sister could be out enjoying her free time in different ways, making new friends, or even exploring their surroundings, anything but accompanying her grumpy older sibling with housework. It wasn't that she wanted to be so prickly, no, it was just that the aches in her limbs from the workweek and the strain of moving new furniture, it was almost too much for the time being. A new life, a new apartment in one of the biggest cities of Cocoon, a whole world of opportunity for both of them... Provided they could keep one certain little secret safe.

Yet that all came to a sudden halt when a low, gentle knock sounded at the front door.

Lightning felt the soft hairs on the back of her neck prickle up, but when Serah moved to stop painting, she simply signaled for her to continue. "I'll get it."

And there it was, even before she'd exited the short hall into the front entryway, from beneath the gap in the front door, the scent that she hoped to never catch again, yet not for lack of fondness, nor familiarity. She lingered there for only a moment, because the one at her door, she could surely smell her scent as well, and she had likely already heard even the softest of footsteps upon the carpeted floor.

Lightning glanced at the chain lock on the door, but she didn't move it away, not even when she suddenly turned the handle to yank the entire door open with a low, rumbling growl. "How did you find us?"

A sudden voice, that almost musical accent, and then the scent of someone she could never possibly forget, so deep and earthy and absolutely nothing like the city they stood within. "What, no hugs for an old friend..? Not much of a welcome, is it?"

"What do you want, Fang?" Lightning narrowed her eyes at the fresh wound on Fang's cheek. "I swear, if you led _anyone_ here-"

"What, you think I'm an idiot?" Fang suddenly paused, lowering her voice, a bit gentler than before. "I'd never... Never bring them to you, Light."

Lightning glanced away at the sound of that. "Then why are you here?"

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't get _this_ from just anyone..." Fang reached up to rub at the cut on her cheek. "But they're not on our tail right now, okay? Nobody's gonna find you because of us."

Lightning's arm went stiff for less than a second. "'Us'."

Fang nodded. "Vanille's keeping watch, downstairs... Light, we're in pretty bad shape; we could _really_ use a friendly face right now, okay? I promise I'll make it up to you."

Lightning grit her teeth together. "We don't have much room here."

"We don't need much... Just a roof over our heads." Fang slowly reached for the edge of the doorframe, yet she didn't move inside, she merely traced her fingertips against the outline of the wood. "I can pay you for this, if you need it." She didn't miss the way that Lightning's eyes went just a little bit brighter at that. "How are you doing, Light?"

Lightning felt her canine teeth instinctively go sharper, and she felt her gaze hone in on the terrace that Fang stood upon, searching the area for any possible threats, but there was nothing there that she could see, nothing much out of the ordinary. "Decent, for once."

"That's good." Fang lowered her voice to a whisper. "No problems..?"

Lightning shook her head. "I'm fine, Serah's fine."

"All fine, huh?" Fang smiled softly. "Glad to hear that."

Lightning stared at Fang for a long moment, gazing out with blue eyes that almost began to look golden within a certain light, before she slowly unbolted the lock. "Get Vanille in here... Is she hurt?"

"Nothing she can't heal off." Fang's smile widened when Lightning finally opened the door. "She'll be up in a minute, said she wanted to make sure there wasn't anyone watching."

Lightning stepped back into the front hallway, a space that suddenly felt much too small with another person there, a person with such a strong and familiar scent, someone who smelled like mossy trees and dirt and _blood_ , different blood, not her own, yet then, there was also the sweet smell of something she'd likely just eaten that very same day, perhaps a bit of cheap ice cream.

Fang noticed the subtle twitch of Lightning's nostrils. "I got 'em way worse than they got me."

Lightning glanced at the cut on Fang's cheek. "I see."

Fang leaned off to the side, slightly, watching the way that Lightning closed the door just enough to keep the summer insects from fluttering inside, if only for refuge from the rain. "...I missed you, Light."

Lightning looked down at the carpet beneath her feet.

"I mean it, ever since the whole thing back at Euride..." Fang fought the urge to move a bit closer. "I know I shouldn't cling to things, shouldn't let myself hope for this, but-"

"Fang." Lightning suddenly glanced up to meet her gaze, steady and unyielding. "We're safer in small groups."

"I know, I know..." Fang grit her teeth for just a brief moment, and her eyes almost seemed pleading, as if she was trying to keep herself from asking far too much, from blurting out everything that was on her mind. "I just missed you."

Lightning glanced to the side when a soft pair of footsteps approached from further inside the house. "I missed you, too."

It was only a moment before Serah froze at the end of the hall. "Fang?!"

Fang smiled, but then she grinned even wider when she was suddenly tackled in a fierce hug. "Hey, little Farron..."

"Light, you didn't tell me _Fang_ was visiting!" Serah hugged Fang close, before she released her grip to stand back on her tiptoes, examining the scratch on the curve of Fang's cheek; the little white lie in the words she had spoken, already taking the initiative to greet her in such manner, despite the fact that Serah just knew as well as Lightning did that neither of them had caught any small trace of Fang in several years. "Oh, Fang-"

"...I didn't know she'd be stopping by." Lightning slowly leaned back against the wall, but she kept watching the doorway out of the corner of her gaze, and she spoke in a low whisper. "How did you find us, anyway? Is there anything I should know about?"

"No, no cracks in your cover..." Fang lowered her voice as well. "We were just down near the harbor, looking around; I __never__ forget a scent, Light, and even _you_ can't throw my nose off your trail."

Lightning's shoulders almost seemed to relax, and she slowly leaned forward to look out from the doorway. "We shouldn't talk about this here."

Fang nodded, and she slowly tipped her head to the side. "Vanille's taking her sweet time..."

Lightning glanced at the railing of the balcony. "You'd better check on her."

From anyone else, Fang would have just quipped back a wry retort or asked for a bit of patience, but the steel in Lightning's eyes clearly told her to just go and fetch her friend so that she could close the damn door already. When a moment passed between them, Lightning watched the way that Fang merely stuck her hands in her pockets and walked a few paces outside, glancing around the balcony stairs for any hint of Vanille.

"Light..." Serah leaned over to look out the doorway, and she spoke in a whisper as well. "She was attacked, wasn't she?"

Lightning could still see the cut on Fang's cheek. "Seems that way."

Fang called out over the terrace. "Vanille, come on!"

A distant voice called back. "One second!"

"We don't _have_ a second, Light's gonna-" Fang caught a rather icy look out of the corner of her eye. "We're gonna get left out on the doorstep if you don't get a move on!"

"Okay, okay!" It was only a moment later that the whirlwind known as Vanille suddenly rushed up the stairwell, only to almost trip upon the very last stair, yet she caught herself just in time, stumbling out into the balcony. "There was a really big squirrel."

Fang reached out to gently poke Vanille's forehead. "A squirrel..."

Vanille almost seemed to pout. "A very _mean_ looking squirrel."

Fang lowered her voice just a bit. "Then we'd better get inside before Lightning locks the door on us, wouldn't you say?"

Vanille suddenly turned around with such a bright smile, and before Lightning could even react, she was wrapped in a rather crushing hug, the kind that only those who haven't seen each other in several years could muster up the strength for.

"Oh, Light!" Vanille hugged Lightning even tighter. "It's so good to see you again!"

Lightning tried to breathe through the tremendous grip of Vanille's arms, but after a mere instant of surprise, she simply hugged her as well, guiding them both away from the door. "I know, kiddo."

Vanille leaned back after a moment, slightly pouting again. "I'm not a kid anymore!"

Lightning shook her head. "That's the curse of little sisters, even if we aren't blood... You're always little in our eyes."

Fang smiled at that, gently closing the door behind her with the heel of her shoe. "Good to see us all here... Back together again."

Lightning exhaled when Vanille finally stopped trying to bruise her lungs. "...It's been a long time."

" _Years_ , Light." Serah stepped forward to hug Vanille as well, humming and smiling all the while. "Haven't seen _either_ of you in years..."

Lightning took a slow step to the side, moving towards the low archway that led into the main sitting room. "We could take a quick break from painting."

Fang sniffed at the air. "So _that's_ what that is..."

Lightning nodded, leading the way into a rather cozy little room with a small sofa and two chairs, one of which she took for herself, if only to avoid more physical contact than she could handle within a single afternoon. "We're somewhat new in town, to be honest... At least this neighborhood."

"Yeah." Serah flopped down against the couch, and she grinned when Vanille did the same. "Wait, are you guys living around here, too?"

Fang sat down on the opposite chair. "No, just passing through." She tried not to glance over at Lightning. "We've been... To be honest, the goal was to find the two of you again, but we ran into some trouble last week; had to shake a few punks off our trail."

Lightning narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "What sort of 'punks'?"

"Punks with _dogs_..." Fang bit back a low snarl, trying to relax against her seat. "Not easy to get them off your scent, not unless you're ready to swim."

Lightning slowly folded her hands against her lap. "And you're sure they aren't following you now?"

Fang reached up to tap the cut on her cheek. "Dead sure."

Lightning stared at Fang for a long while, even when Serah and Vanille quickly began to catch up with their own lives, from Serah's new college courses to all the things that Vanille had collected out on the road, little trinkets and unusual baubles that she soon took out from the purse that was slung against her shoulder.

Fang simply stared back at Lightning, and while her body seemed the very picture of calm, one leg resting over the other, while her foot idled in small circles, there was such a mystery in her eyes, the sort of longing for some unknowable thing, at least until enough courage could be mustered within her to ask. Yet Lightning kept very quiet as well, for she knew almost exactly what Fang was itching to ask for, to learn if they were still within the same spot they'd left off in after their desperate departure from a city at war with their kind, when they'd been forced to leave everything behind and flee into the night. She knew that Fang wanted to know if she was still allowed to take hold of her hands, to smile and press long kisses against her forehead, to hold her so very close while they hid out another day, another sleepless night while standing guard for their loved ones, their little sisters, those who wouldn't have been long for the world without them. For they were two sides of the very same coin, orphans burdened with the care of the one who they would absolutely die for, their younger kin, forced to grow up and take on the lofty place of a surrogate parent, a commonality that only brought them closer and closer with each and every passing day.

Lightning finally rose up to her feet, glancing at the hallway again. "Fang, help me make some sandwiches." She didn't wait for a response, and she turned to look at both Serah and Vanille. "We have turkey or peanut butter."

"Oh, I'm not too picky." Vanille smiled at her, still showing Serah all of her unusual souvenirs. "But, uh... Do you have any bananas?"

Lightning nodded, before she turned her gaze towards Serah.

"Turkey's fine." Serah smiled softly as well. "But you might just have to fight Fang for it..."

Fang laughed under her breath, rising up from the chair to stretch out her arms. "I'll make sure there's enough for you."

Lightning walked off without another word, quiet as the rain on the windowpanes, just a pair of footsteps in the hall.

"Light." Fang followed after her, careful not to make too much noise. "Are you-"

Yet Lightning simply began to walk inside the kitchen, before she reached out to yank all of the curtains together, drawing them shut, and then slowly, she leaned herself against the countertop, breathing deep.

"Oh, Light-" Fang nodded in understanding. "Sorry about this..." She didn't even flinch when she caught sight of those sharpened teeth, how they simply glistened there in the low light, nor did she wince when Lightning's eyes finally shifted back up to look at her again, a rich, deep hue, like golden honey.

Fang knew it was too difficult just to keep all of those emotions bottled up and contained, to keep herself from channeling them out into the body of a far deadlier being; excitement could trigger a change, as could any form of stress or inner turmoil, anything that she could barely control, even with such an ironclad will.

" _Breathe_ , Light." Fang reached out for the hand that suddenly sported such blunt claws, nails she knew could grow so much sharper than they first appeared. "I'm right here, okay? There isn't any danger."

A lupine voice, rough and barely audible. "...I know."

Fang blinked, and there she was, the fellow lycanthrope she'd been searching for, only Lightning was trying just as hard as she possibly could to fight back against the beast, to turn herself human again within the shelter of her own home.

"Fang." Lightning felt her hand tighten against Fang's fingers, holding them, anchoring herself there, leaning forward to rest her forehead against Fang's soft mane of hair, just beside her shoulder. "You're-"

"I'm sorry." Fang reached up to try and soothe the pain away, the awful ache of a contorted body, of skin that was trying so hard to become such thick white fluff, though its bearer was still attempting to force it all away with each steadily passing moment. "Listen, I would've called to let you know beforehand, but I wasn't sure how to get your number... Didn't think you'd have the same one as before."

Lightning's jaw distended, narrow and smooth, with so many sharp teeth that slid out into longer, sharper points. "Are you... _Seriously_ asking me for that?"

Fang almost laughed, still stroking at the back of Lightning's neck. "Not intentionally, Light... But I'd be happy to get it from you."

Lightning suddenly snarled, a low, softer sound, almost gentle, a gesture with no real bite. "Make me a sandwich and I'll consider it."

And with that, Fang left Lightning right where she was, even while she was still half-changed.

"What kind?" Fang made her way over to a package of bread on the far countertop. "You said you have turkey?"

Lightning shrugged, leaning against the counter. "Doesn't matter."

Fang knew very well that among the numerous things that could bring on a transformation, there were also a few sensations that could initiate the opposite change. A lack of stress, for example, or the feeling of true safety, something that included the act of eating calmly, a chemical reaction that signaled for the body to rest, for the wolf to sleep again.

Lightning released a low sigh. She could feel her claws scraping gently against the wooden counter, and she felt the prickle of white fluff beneath her clothes, the long teeth in her mouth, sharp canines ready to rend and tear apart any threat that might appear. While Fang did indeed represent a threat, it wasn't one of her own will, merely a reminder of the life that they once used to live, of running from place to place upon whatever scraps of food they could scavenge, of living between the safety of abandoned spaces and the barrel of a loaded gun.

Fang rummaged through the kitchen for some sliced turkey, a bit of cheese, and then a jar of mayonnaise, which she swiftly began to make a sandwich out of, along with the slices of bread. "Doing okay?"

Lightning nodded through the pain. "Yeah." She merely waited there, trying to change herself back with her own will, but it was only when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and then caught sight of the plate on the counter beneath her, only then did she finally start to settle. "Thanks."

"No problem." Fang didn't watch anything but Lightning's eyes, those bright rings of gold, she simply watched as they slowly faded off into a colorless sort of tone, and then eventually, throughout the moments that slipped by like hours, back into their original shade of blue. "Has this been happening often?"

Lightning shook her head, slowly chewing on a bite of her sandwich. "No, not often... Not for months, usually."

Fang almost smiled; she might've made a joke about the full moon if Lightning hadn't just experienced such debilitating pain. "Light, we're here for a reason, you know... Not that I wouldn't just stop by to say hello."

Lightning exhaled, before she set the sandwich back down, feeling how her elongated teeth fully receded, and how her jaw steadily clicked back into place again. "And what reason is that?"

Fang glanced at the windowsill. "Gran Pulse."

Lightning went very still. "What about it?"

"What about it..." Fang slowly leaned to the side, before she looked down at her feet, silently tapping one of her shoes against the kitchen tiles. "We _made_ it out there, that's what this is about."

Lightning didn't say anything for a long while, not until Fang looked back at her. "You made it there."

"Yeah." Fang reached up to push back a bit of her own dark hair, tossing it over her shoulder. "Wide open territory... Nobody there to hunt for us, not if they don't have any clue where we are."

Lightning didn't miss the sudden waft of scent from Fang's neck, an almost deliberate attempt to coax her into remembering such things, into feeling what she'd once felt all those years ago, that very same scent, the same _Fang_ , the same sort of kindling love in her heart, a sensation that had only grown stronger with each and every threat they managed to shake.

"Come with us." Fang spoke it just as quietly as if she was asking for a small favor, to borrow something simple, or to ask Lightning to take just a single little step away from home. "We can be a _family_ again; no more running, no more going hungry... No more bloodshed."

Lightning almost wanted to step backwards, wanted to bare her teeth, yet she just stood there, staring back at Fang. "No more _bloodshed?_ What, you just want to live off of twigs and leaves out there? Come on, Fang-"

Fang suddenly bore her own teeth in response, just slightly, enough to hook one of them over the edge of her lip. "Gazelles don't count... Wild hares, elk and deer, they don't count worth a _damn_ , and you know it." She turned to face Lightning head-on. "They'll always find us in a place like this, Light... There's always a gun in the crowd, someone out there who knows what you _are._ "

Lightning slowly looked away. "We've been safe in this city for years; only the apartment is new."

Fang watched Lightning's expression for a long moment, before she let her own teeth grow blunt again, stepping forward to lean her arm against the countertop. "It _is_ a nice apartment... A little small, not the greatest neighborhood, but-" She shook her head once. "How long did it take you to save up for this?"

Lightning's eyes went very distant. "Like I said... Years."

Fang took a step forward again. "You must've worked hard."

Lightning didn't say anything. She just stared at the thin, dark jacket above the shirt on Fang's torso, some sort of abstract design that was quite hidden by the thick layer of denim.

"You're trying to make something here, aren't you?" Fang's nose almost twitched at the scent of nearby paint. "A safe place for Serah, a home for the both of you... I just hope you won't ever have to lose it."

Lightning felt how Fang reached for both of her hands. "Fang-"

"Listen, we'll hang out around the area if you like." Fang closed her eyes, holding Lightning's wrists in such a gentle grip, just enough to keep her still. "Maybe, even... Maybe we'll find somewhere close to stay until things get rough for all of us." She opened her eyes to see that defiant look again, only it was far softer than before. "Things _always_ get rough, Light; it's all just a matter of time."

"Serah's in school now." Lightning shook her head. "She's studying there, and she's going to graduate in a few years... We can't just cut our losses and leave before we even _lose_."

"I know." Fang stroked her fingertips over the tops of Lightning's wrists, before she slowly let both of them go again. "You know, she's still just like Vanille to me, almost a little sister... It's good to see her so happy."

Lightning glanced at the half-eaten sandwich on the counter. "She'll be even happier if we actually bring over some lunch."

Fang smiled, before she turned back to face the open package of bread. "Let's not keep them waiting, then..."

Yet as they worked, Lightning almost felt a prickle run down her spine at how natural it was, how Fang simply fit there, melding right into such a new setting with ease, with only a few simple questions of _'where do you stash the peanut butter?'_ , or where certain utensils were stored. She was truly an adapting force, a solid presence, almost as if she'd never left all those years ago, desperate to evade those who pursued them. Fang just kept spreading peanut butter over a slice of bread, outwardly oblivious to the way Lightning looked at her, but within her own mind, her thoughts weren't quite so casual or calm.

Lightning soon stepped away to start making a different sandwich. "Do you want peanut butter or turkey?"

Fang smiled softly. "Turkey's fine."

Lightning reached for the jar of mayonnaise. "We sound like..."

Fang's smile widened. "Yeah."

"It's almost _too_ normal." Lightning began to spread out a small bit of mayonnaise across the bread, before she reached for a slice of turkey. "Just another day, right? Nothing's changed... Not really."

"You seem calmer." Fang started to slice up a banana. "Relaxed, almost."

Lightning nodded. "I check the perimeters almost every day, make sure I don't smell anything dangerous."

"Hard to tell, sometimes." Fang placed each slice of banana atop the layer of peanut butter. "You never know who or what might be out there... You've got Serah for backup, but what if she gets stressed out at school? You can't catch everything, Light."

"She isn't stressed." Lightning stared at the package of bread, trying not to glare at Fang for such blatant pessimism. "I've been keeping tabs on everything."

"Everything..." Fang's mouth twitched into a sad sort of smile, before she slowly began to gaze off into the distance. "No one can see everything."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I can try."

"Still the same Light, aren't you?" Fang's smile held just a little more mirth than before. "Wouldn't be _you_ without that spirit... Like you can do anything."

Lightning picked up two of the sandwich plates, before she took a slow step to the side, just barely brushing her shoulder against the back of Fang's jacket. "I seem to remember someone else who had the very same thing."

Fang stared at the open jar of peanut butter. "Things in life... They can _really_ drag you down, Light."

Lightning leaned in to whisper against Fang's ear. "So? Shake them off."

Fang smiled again, but her gaze remained distant, all up until she finally finished the sandwich she had made, carrying off the other two plates into the living room. And there they were, nearly a mirror image of the time that the four of them had traveled together, sharing food and stories like they were all one and the same, words to keep the mind healthy and a meal to keep the stomach full, to hold up their strength within more meager times.

Lightning sat back down on the armchair with her own half-eaten sandwich, hoping that Serah wouldn't notice it, but by the look of those curious eyes and a slightly twitching nose, she'd already taken note of what had happened within the kitchen. But Lightning could hardly be blamed, what with unexpected visitors bearing such odd wounds, like the long scratch that Vanille kept trying to hide beneath the sleeve of her shirt, or the scent of blood on the back of Fang's neck, or even that cut upon her cheek.

There was little to hide from the nose of a lycan, and even less from an old friend, one who knew just how many threats could always be lurking out there in the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

A gunshot echoed out beneath the rain, sharp and deafening within such heightened eardrums, in the lycan that slowly crumpled down to kneel against that muddy earth. One of the hunters held a vial between his fingertips, a liquid comprised of a rather potent painkiller and utterly concentrated Aconitum.

Yet the lycan still fought, and she let out a sound that forced pure ice into each of the hunter's hearts, an almost human cry, a ragged, barking noise, caught between calling out for her own life and the life of someone else, for the beast that had yet to be crippled. Her leg was savaged, ripped apart and swiftly bleeding, yet even a cornered animal still had the means to fight, even if she could barely lift herself from the ground.

A bullet waited within the chamber, and she stared right up into the barrel of the gun, listening for the telltale press of a finger upon the trigger, but it didn't yet come crashing down.

Another call echoed out, a low howl, and the hunters almost seemed to tense up and draw closer to one another, glancing this way and that. She knew, then, that the humans must not have known who was calling; her son had still evaded capture. She didn't call again, for she knew that her child could still run off into the night, he could still leave such a place with his life intact, and she still didn't speak, even when that ring of darkness grew ever closer, before a sudden, blinding pain took her very eyes away.

A trail of smoke rose up from within the rain, and the human slowly lifted his gun away, gazing down at the body of one who was so steadily, completely changing. One of his fellows let out a muffled curse, as if to call out their damnable luck for the umpteenth time; there would be no prized pelt to salvage, and no immediate proof of their kill to collect. Where there had once been a slain lycan of silver hide, there was only a woman of a somewhat similar hue, pale and bleeding against the mud. The syringe was quickly pressed down into the vein of her nearest arm, just in case the sudden sting of a gunshot hadn't finished its only job.

"Blighted wolves..." Another bullet clicked inside the chamber. "Can't even be true to it in death."

A second call rang out within the air, a long, baying howl that reached into heights of the forest, but it was different somehow, less of a questioning sound, more of a definite decree. He was there, off in the distance, crumpled to the ground like his mother, only his teeth were snapping at the air, perched upon the cliff that they were supposed to be climbing together. She would soon be gone, he thought, she was bleeding and dying, _poisoned_. Was there truly nothing he could do?

He was silver, like her, small and light and swift, but against the sheer power of a hunting rifle, there was very little that their wits could do for them. He cried out, then, even if it gave his position away, just so his mother would know, even in the depths of the wolfsbane, of a feverish, burning numbness, the only toxin that could bring down a lycan without fail; he called out in the sound of a human, a young man, crying for her, but when yet another gunshot made the entire forest go silent, all except for the rain, he went very quiet as well.

And she was gone. He could only stand there, gazing down with such sightless eyes, deep within a dull sort of panic, as if he didn't truly accept that she wouldn't just suddenly run up from the forest trails, ready to flee from the lowland woods with him, as if she wasn't entirely lost. He knew he was just a child again, young and so utterly blind to the world, a burden to his mother; she'd given him a name he never truly deserved, at least in his opinion, her faith that they would live to see another day, another sunrise, but within that lingering moment in time, the world felt utterly dark. Hope, it was the word that she'd held closest to herself, even in her own youth, so much that she gave it to her son to keep his spirits high.

He covered his eyes in his hands, beneath claws and padded fingertips, in silver fur and warm skin, still alive, still able to run. But they'd slain her like an animal, he realized, shot her down and left her for the crows, if the humans weren't already...

Hope was off in a flash, still numb, still blind and unthinking, and it was only when he crashed down against the undergrowth, running out for all he was worth, only then did the anger boil up to a point where he didn't care how reckless it was.

They'd tracked them, stalked them for far too long, and he just couldn't stand it anymore, even if they killed him for it, too. His mother wasn't calling anymore, and the second gunshot had been enough proof of her fate, but if those people thought they could get away unscathed, then they would had a whole other lycan to deal with. Years ago, he might have fled off into the night in cowardice, a mere pup in the body of a wolf, but he had since grown into himself, swift and agile and deadly in his own right.

He ran down across the dips and bends in the earth, through the quiet creeks and patches of thick clover, over the thorns and briars and out into the heart of the forest, a beast of sleek silver and such burning eyes, golden eyes, of strong limbs and sharpened teeth. There was still the fear, the human side of him that was still mourning the sudden loss, the side that cried so pitifully and just couldn't shake the stress away, but now that the wolf was out, now that the lycan ran so high, he didn't even flinch when a long, baying howl called out into the rain.

It wasn't his mother's voice, he could tell that much, but what else could make a sound like that? They weren't traveling with anyone, and none of their pursuers seemed to have brought dogs with them. Hope had little time to think, for he was still bounding off into the depths of the forest, following his own scent from the time that his mother told him to run ahead. Had she truly caught wind of the hunters before he had even sensed them?

Another call rang out, even closer, enough to make Hope's pelt bristle and stand on end, even that scruff of darker silver upon the back of his neck. He suddenly let out his own ragged snarl, still running against the damp floor of the forest. Was there someone else in the woods? Someone else they were hunting?

It wasn't long until he reached them, but the sudden crack of a shotgun sent him into overdrive, racing on as fast as he could, until he could finally smell them clearly, the sharp aroma of gunpowder and human scent, even the scent of his mother's blood, just enough to make him lunge.

The bite force of a wolf could reach the low end of a thousand pounds, but a full sized lycan only multiplied that amount; with teeth as long as human fingers, and with a jaw strength to rival the bite of crocodiles, it was only child's play at that point to rush out and tear away whatever flesh he could reach, to rip and rend and ignore the deep sting of shotgun pellets. He was a larger and taller beast than any human, even if his own human form was quite diminutive, but one wouldn't know that by the blood dribbling down across his chin in great droplets, or by the deafening shouts and scrambling efforts of his prey, hunters turned into hunted, into a grand battle of teeth and steel, of gunshots and blooded fur.

Hope darted down beneath the strike of an electrified baton, scrambling to reach the cover of undergrowth so he could catch his breath for just a mere moment, yet when a sudden set of eyes glared back at him, he felt the blunt end of a rifle crack down against his skull.

It was a lycan who suddenly rose out of the bushes, gazing down at its own kind, the one who didn't wear a radio collar around his neck.

" _Back!_ " One of the hunters brandished the baton, warding the other beast away, while Hope tried to make his vision stop spinning around and around. "Get back, now!"

The lycan simply slunk back into the forest again, silent and aloof.

Hope's stomach felt as if it was turning in on itself at the incredible ache in his skull, and even when he tried to stand up, to grapple his way towards where the other lycan was going, he only received another blow to the head for his trouble.

"Maybe this one's pelt will stick around?" One of the hunters began to ready a vial of the potent liquid. "Quiet, now... If you stay still, this won't hurt."

Hope stared out at the visage in the distance, of his mother, of the woman laying lifeless against the ground, and for her sake, he prayed that the man's words were true. Had it been a traitor who brought her to such a state? Another lycan, a collared beast, one who listened and obeyed what the men said, had _that_ been the person who truly killed them? His mother was so very pale, laying within a pool of her own blood, and it was enough to make him cry out again, clawing at the earth in an attempt to reach her.

One of the hunters made a shushing sound, readying the syringe. "It's over now."

Hope felt his vision grow so very blurry, but when he tried to snarl and stand up, yet another crack of the rifle sent him down, though it was the fire of a bullet in his arm that made him roar.

The voice was suddenly soft and gentle. "It's all over."

No, it couldn't be, couldn't be all over; Hope bore his teeth and snarled, thrashing out in pain, for he knew it couldn't be the end. It was the prick of a needle that made him finally draw forth that last reserve of ferocity, of swiftly rolling away and getting just out of reach before the plunger could be pressed, before that deadly liquid could enter his veins, before yet another blast of the shotgun could send him to his death. And they tried, they tried so desperately to make him go still and quiet again, to be euthanized for the burden he carried, the curse of a lycanthrope, but Hope still had some fight left in his body. Even though his mind was blank, just a heavy haze of anger and the shock of loss, of his own blood trailing down behind him, he kept running and dashing out beneath the storm of raindrops and gunfire, from the sudden howl of a beast on his trail.

"Traitor!" Hope's throat tightened with the surge of blood, and his eyes went very narrow at that shadow in the trees, the one who tailed his every move. "You... You're a _killer_."

Golden eyes peered out from within the darkness, hurrying to keep up with Hope. "The only traitor is one who hides from the light."

Hope nearly thought to stop and jump up at the other lycan, to rip away at their eyes or ears, but the sound of heavily approaching footsteps made him race off even faster. He knew he needed to find the place his mother once spoke of, a city of unparalleled safety, but it could be many miles before he reached it.

The forest stretched on and on, and the next crack of a gunshot bit down into one of his hind limbs, likely fired from a distance, yet Hope just kept barreling on through the trees, past the cliffs where he'd been waiting for his mother, on towards the only place that could possibly hide his scent. Though the rainfall had kept them concealed for a time, there was always a trail of scent that anyone with a strong enough nose could follow, a path left behind in the forest. When his ears first perked at the sound of rushing water, and then the low thunder in the distance, Hope squeezed his eyes shut and lunged.

Another gunshot cracked off beneath that sudden flash in the sky, a whistling bullet that buried itself deep in the bark of a tree, the fallen log that Hope launched himself off from; he was just a blur of dark gray, dampened within the rain, a lithe, sleek form that seemed more wolflike than human, of long limbs and blunt claws, of short ears and a fluffy tail, a lycanthrope within its most true form, not of either species. A pure hybrid, the carrier of an incurable curse, a wolfman, the kind that they wrote such fierce stories about, yet in that moment of falling, he just couldn't help but wonder why.

The water crashed all around him, sharp and blurry and utterly cold, and his throat tightened into a silent gasp, before his entire body was swept down beneath the spray. Air bubbles wheezed out from his nostrils and lungs, so very tiny and fluttering, and they floated up towards the surface, the river that was speckled beneath the rain.

Was it all for nothing, he wondered, were all the years of running and living beneath the threat of such things, were they all for nothing? Would he die to the force of nature itself, alone and freezing beneath those strong, crushing currents? Hope felt himself drifting along, almost weightless, a beast locked between two forms, hovering within two worlds; he was alone, waterlogged, left to the whims of the river, to the hands of the brutal wilderness.

It was only when his spine finally hit the incline of the shore, only then did his nostrils flare up and take in a spurt of air again, breathing so raggedly. He sank his claws down into the pebbled earth, yet he didn't open his eyes, if only to escape the sight of his own bloodstained hide. The bullets would eventually be pushed out and away, he knew that much, the curse would bless his body with regeneration, and he would heal again. Yet Hope cried out so hoarsely, breathing against the muddy shore, just as limp and helpless as he once was, back when he was young. Like a child, a lost little soul, abandoned and left to fend for himself; he was merely a puppy again, mourning for his mother, crying there for her. His eyes stung with tears, but he slowly forced himself to rise upright, dragging his limp legs on with the strength of his forelimbs, even if they were just as punctured and reddened by the bullets.

His life had been spared for at least another day, and his heart was still beating steadily. Even if his mind was just a blur of such fierce images and sounds, of the shotgun blasts and howling wolves, of blood in the air and raging teeth, he could barely think beyond his next labored step up the shore. Each pace took him closer to the city of lights and forests, to a place his mother told him was safe, and when he finally dragged himself up to the very height of the hill, one of the bullets in his hind limbs fell out, rolling back down into the water below, before it floated off into the current.

Hope slumped himself down upon the grass, and he covered his eyes in his hands, beneath his clawed fingertips, and he tried his best to stop himself from crying. He just couldn't help the low whimpers inside his throat, so cracked and dry, and he slowly began to crawl forward again, inching along in the grass. If his mother's last wish had been to find those city streets, then he would reach them for her. He would run, he would flee again, he would live for yet another day.

The rain kept drumming down against the forest leaves, but Hope limped on between the tree trunks, traveling further and further into the dark.

* * *

Lightning rested on the couch, listening to the strong sounds beyond the open window, to the downpour that only grew louder within the night. She could hear the rain, like a river pouring down over the tiles of the roof, but beneath it all, she could hear the low breaths of the one who was sleeping upon the floor.

Fang had been given a number of blankets, of course, even offered the couch to sleep on, but she insisted that Lightning should rest on it instead, much in the same way that they'd both told Vanille and Serah to take the bedrooms. It did take a bit of time to coax Serah into not giving up her bed for Fang, but she soon relented, if only for the memory of how Lightning would always stand guard back in those early days with Fang resting right beside her.

And there they were, so deep in the dark, dozing away in the living room, only Lightning just couldn't find the will to close her eyes and fall asleep. Fang stirred slightly from beneath the blankets, and she murmured something in her sleep, before she made a different sort of sound, rumbling and low.

Lightning rose up to sit against the couch, with her ears perked and her eyes wide open. It was yet another reason why they couldn't truly integrate, why they couldn't ever allow anyone but their own kind to sleep close by, for when Lightning peered down at the pile of blankets on the ground, it wasn't a human figure she looked upon.

The streetlights shone in through the blurry windows, soft shadows upon the speckled glass, and all of it made the massive creature seem so much more gentle as she slept there, even though her underclothes were practically ruined at that point, ripped apart by the sudden change in form.

"Fang..." Lightning didn't move, but she did let her eyes wander up towards those pointed ears, over the soft, twitching nostrils, peering at a lycanthrope in shallow slumber. "Fang, wake up."

Fang mumbled again, before she slowly rolled over to rest on her back, revealing that her form was not that of any natural wolf; while lycanthropes could indeed take on a much smaller form, a body that could pass as a wild dog, or even indeed, a wolf, their true state was that of a _massive_ humanoid figure, a body with long limbs, blunt claws, and overall, covered in so much thick fur.

Lightning looked upon the sight of such a being, of that fluffy dark hair, fur that held that same sheen of scarlet whenever the light hit it just right. "...Fang."

Fang's long ears twitched at the sound, and slowly, her eyes began to slide open, not in a shade of green, but a sharp golden hue.

Lightning looked deep into that gaze, into the eyes of a lycan, before she slowly stepped off from the sofa, kneeling down beside that tangled pile of blankets. "I told you not to wear anything."

Fang rumbled again, nearly a laugh, and her voice revealed itself to be utterly lupine, low and smooth. "Hey, I can't come back after all these years just to go naked out in the open... What if the kids needed to get up for a glass of water?"

Lightning tried not to roll her eyes. "We've all seen each other when a change happens... And they aren't kids anymore."

Fang's ears went slightly lower, and she began to close her eyes. "Guess they aren't."

Lightning watched the rise and fall of those strong lungs, a chest without human curves or dimorphism, so flat and broad, utterly muscular. "How have you been, Fang? Really."

Fang turned over to lay on her side, and from beneath those woven blankets, her tail swept back and forth. "Not too bad... We just have to keep ourselves on the move, at least for most of the time."

Lightning took a moment just to look out at the windowsill, at all of the raindrops dripping down against the apartment balcony. "I did miss the two of you."

Fang's tail twitched even faster than before.

Lightning reached out to stroke her hand across Fang's face, past her narrow muzzle and those soft, bristly whiskers, down between her golden eyes, then back up to her forehead. "If you made it into Gran Pulse... Why come back for us? Why risk that much safety?"

Fang turned her head to nudge Lightning's wrist. "It just wasn't the same without the four of us." She kept quiet for a while, just breathing in Lightning's scent. "You remember how Vanille used to cry at night, back when she was little? She started doing it again, missed the two of you that badly."

Lightning glanced over at the hallway that led towards the front door, and she suddenly felt rather grateful that Vanille hadn't been there when she'd questioned Fang so bluntly, without much warmth at all. "There just wasn't any other way, back then... They would've caught us as a larger group, we would've-"

"I know, Light." Fang reached up to touch one of Lightning's shoulders with such a massive hand, clawed and muscular, yet still elegant as well. "We looked for the two of you once it all cooled down, but after a few months..."

Lightning kept very still, even when Fang sat up, dwarfing her human body in size, but there wasn't a single flicker of fear inside her mind, not even when she was slowly embraced.

"You had to keep Serah safe." Fang rumbled quietly when Lightning started to relax in her arms. "Nobody blames you, Light."

Lightning just sat there, feeling so very small against the true form of a lycanthrope, a beast that was strong enough to tear mere humans apart, to be hunted down almost relentlessly, and if she hadn't had her own strength as well, it might not have felt so very comfortable. But Fang, she was someone who Lightning knew every inch of, every curl and lock of her mane, every silky line of fur that ran down her chin, every little bit of her toothy smile, even the sheer strength of her limbs. They were long arms, and even longer legs, powerful too, bearing blunt claws, though they could be just as deadly as those teeth in her mouth. Lightning couldn't see those, though, for she was resting beneath Fang's chin, right against her upper chest, for Fang was enormous even by lycan standards.

"We should get some more sleep." Fang's voice rose above the sound of pattering rain, but it was still soft, just for Lightning to hear. "It's probably midnight by now."

But Lightning didn't move away from Fang's arms, nor did she budge an inch. "I couldn't sleep."

Fang slowly lowered her head, peering at Lightning from the corner of a golden eye. "Couldn't... Or didn't want to?"

Lightning drew in a deep breath of the damp air, the scent of the cold rain, before she slowly met Fang's gaze. "Just like old times, isn't it?"

Fang didn't speak a word, she merely sat there while Lightning began to move away, and both of them remained there upon the floor, waiting until it was finally time, just a pair of smaller wolves, beasts moving towards the rain.

Lightning slipped out through the open window and ran, bolting off into the darkness, so far away from the lights of the streets. She opened her mouth to feel the mist against her tongue and her teeth, listening to the low snap of damp branches and leaves, her fellow runner in the night.

The city was home to small patches of forested land, parks and reserves for the local wildlife, and that was where they went, as if nothing had changed from those days of traveling from place to place, hunting and roaming around, of fighting off whatever threats they came across. Lightning was just a bolt of white in the forest, thin and sleek and so utterly focused, while Fang ran along like silk, darker, larger, though nearly just as agile.

In that moment, their world was of scent, not sight, yet when they finally looked upon each other, seeing perfectly in the darkness, with wet grass beneath their feet, beneath claws and paw pads, watching with golden eyes, it felt as if nothing else existed.

Lightning didn't move for a very long while, for it was the first time she'd been out in the open in weeks, so deep within the guise of a wolf, not a fully fledged lycan, no, it was a form that wasn't quite as dangerous to be seen. But when she finally did step forward, prompting Fang to do the same, it was only a matter of time before a quick scuffle unfurled from the motion, though it was merely friendly in nature.

Fang bore her sharp teeth, almost a smile, allowing Lightning to grab at her neck and bite down a bit, as young puppies would do. Unlike wolves, lycanthropes were known to take more of a human approach to play; they didn't grow out of such things, at least not permanently. Soft growls and quiet snapping sounds echoed out within the rain, and Fang bit at Lightning's ears as lightly as she could, even when she received a nuzzling blow to the face, not nearly enough to cause any pain.

They spoke in signals, in teeth and watchful eyes, of learning about each other again, quite different than the adolescent beings they'd been before; they were grown adults with the strength that always came with the passage of time. Yet Fang almost yelped when Lightning bit at her muzzle just a little too hard, but the flinching reflex made her release just as quickly, almost apologetic in nature.

Lightning's voice made itself known, lower and much more rugged than the sounds of her human speech. "Sorry."

"Ah, it's nothing..." Fang's nose began to twitch, and she moved in to bump their foreheads together. "You've gotten a lot tougher, haven't you?"

Lightning felt her tail wag ever so slightly. "I wasn't tough before?"

"You were." Fang shook her head, an admittedly unwolflike gesture, but there was likely nothing dangerous that could see them there in the darkness. "Just stronger now, that's all."

Lightning sat down on her hind legs, and she sniffed at the air, glancing around to make sure that they were still truly alone.

"I really missed this." Fang's ears kept twitching whenever a raindrop hit them, and her fur became so much darker within the weight of the fallen water. "Just... Playing in the rain, you know? Something pointless and fun."

Lightning kept watching the area, as if the sudden bubble of adrenaline had left both her body and mind, right back to business again. "Yeah."

Fang would have frowned if she'd been in her human form. "We're fine here, Light."

Lightning only stopped watching the undergrowth when she felt Fang's forehead press the side of her neck. "Can't be too careful."

Fang let out a low sigh, and she slowly closed her eyes. "What if we didn't _have_ to be? If we could just be like this all the time-"

"Fang." Lightning stood up again, lowering her ears. "Not now, okay?"

Fang looked away, and she slowly wagged her tail.

"Just a big puppy, aren't you?" Lightning moved to nudge her nose against Fang's forehead. "Nothing's really changed."

Fang nosed Lightning back, sniffing and breathing in that familiar scent, still the same Lightning, even after so many years had slipped right by. "...This 'big puppy' just wants her family back together."

Lightning exhaled without a sound. She could feel the patter of the rain on her back, against her fur, before she slowly began to move forward. "You want us to go away with you."

Fang followed on after her, trotting beneath the rain. "You make it sound like a _bad_ thing... Why stick around in a place like this when you could just do whatever the hell you want out in the woods?" She hurried to keep up with Lightning, even going so far as to jump ahead and nip at her ears, just to slow her down a bit. "Do you know how steep the hills are, out there? It takes people _days_ just to cross them, but for us, it can take less than an hour to scale the top."

Lightning suddenly shook herself out from the rain, but it gathered back upon her fur just as quickly. "Serah already calls me a recluse... You won't get her to agree with this."

Fang's tail lowered slightly, not wagging quite as much. "Thought that might be the case... That's why I told you, first."

Lightning narrowed her eyes, walking on beneath the dense undergrowth, through the trees and over the flat little pathways that were intended for human hikes. "You want me to go behind her back?"

Fang shook her head again. "No, but if there's any chance we could both convince her..."

Lightning paused at the aroma of a nearby street, at the thick swell of tar, of oil, even specks of gasoline, things that always used to make her nose sting, but she had gradually adjusted to the pungent scents. "You're assuming I even want to live out there."

Fang paused as well, before she lowered herself down to peer out from the leaves, gazing at the sight of a road that led off towards the denser parts of the city. "You want to stay in a place like this for the rest of your life?"

Lightning's ears swiveled to face the passing cars, and even though she was rather well-hidden within the verdant trees, she still tensed slightly whenever a vehicle went whistling past. "At least until Serah's done with school... We'll go wherever she needs to go once she graduates."

Fang started to lay down against the forest floor, sniffing softly at the scent of the road. "You're going to live like a human."

"We _are_ human." Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Lycanthropes are human... At least originally."

Fang would have shrugged if her shoulders weren't so low against her body. "I don't know about that; my parents lived out in the woods, so why shouldn't I?"

Lightning lowered her ears at the sound of such things.

"And what about you, Light?" Fang tipped her head to the side. "I remember what Serah said back then... Neither of you were bitten, so you had to have gotten it from your mum and dad."

Lightning kept silent for a long while, just watching the cars that moved so swiftly past the forest. "I was born in a city like this." She blinked away the rain. "So was Serah... But dad was gone before she turned three."

Fang slowly sat up to nudge Lightning's cheek.

"Mom went out to find him, but she came back alone." Lightning closed her eyes when Fang nuzzled against her neck. "I'd never seen her act like that before... She just covered her face in her hands, and she told us to pack up everything we could carry."

It wasn't too hard to imagine, Fang knew, especially from the stress of raising children and maintaining a household, of a father who had been spotted somewhere in a city, run down or slain in the streets, and of a mother fleeing with her children to somewhere so very far away, if only to keep them from witnessing the gory details on the evening news. But Fang didn't even ask about Lightning's mother, not when she was already moving up to cross the road, changing her physical form yet again. They could pass as large dogs in a pinch, or at least wolfdogs, and Lightning knew a certain trick to make her eyes look blue, for wolves often had blue eyes as puppies, but never as adults.

They traveled across the road in smaller forms, keeping far away from anyone who might be out for a midnight stroll, and they soon made their way further into the city, through dark alleyways and empty streets.

"Where are we going?" Fang had been following after Lightning in silence for a while, but she started to speak just as soon as the nearby scents were low enough to talk safely. "What are we doing out here?

Lightning kept herself low to the ground while she crept along the alleyway. "I'm going to show you what you've been missing..."

* * *

Serah woke with a start, yet she couldn't remember what she had just been dreaming of. Perhaps a lost memory of her childhood days? Something to make her blood feel frigid and wake her up within a cold sweat? She slowly sat up on her bed, hugging her knees close against her chest. Her fingertips were different than they had been when she first went to sleep.

A dream, good or bad, it could trigger a change, it could make her teeth grow so much longer, make her fingernails sharpen into claws, make the soft fur grow out from the pores in her skin. And when she looked to the side, towards the little mirror that stood on her bedside table, Serah almost whimpered at the sight of a massive wolf, of the face that was starting to look far too much like her own mother's, so pale and elegant, a true lycanthrope.

Serah had always been the youngest, at least between the three of them: her, Lightning, and their mother. Back when they were children, such changes wouldn't bring much more than a bit of surprise, and they'd often run around and chase each other in the woods, under their mother's supervision, of course. Two tiny wolves, barely more than puppies, their teeth were small and delicate, while their strength was only laughable. Imagine that, Serah thought, that the face she looked upon was now almost the same as when their mother would return to them, clamping a dead rabbit or other such prey between her teeth, so blooded and fierce, yet gentle to the ones she held so very close.

It had been easy, then, to let their mother handle the fear of not having enough to eat, to let her insist on feeding them first. They were her precious little children, her young lycans, all that she had left of her family and of her husband, and that love was only doubled by the chance that they might find themselves hunted once again.

Serah looked down at her claws, and she slowly tried to make them go away, to make her body become human again, but it was rather like trying to uproot a tree with her bare hands. She slowly stood up, even when her hind claws clicked against the wooden floor, walking out towards the hallway, and only then did she notice the open window in the living room.

Lightning's clothes were stacked neatly upon the sofa, a telltale sign that she hadn't been under stress whenever she'd taken them off, yet Serah rolled her eyes at the sight of the ruined underclothes near Fang's blankets. Why did either of them even bother with wearing clothes to bed? It wasn't like they hadn't all seen each other change forms...

If they weren't still in the living room, Fang and Lightning were likely outside in the rain, running around and enjoying themselves, so Serah simply walked off into the kitchen, picking up a cookie from the tin on the counter. She wasn't about to make a fuss over Lightning's recreational activities, for it was about time that she actually had some fun for herself... All of those weeks preparing and fixing up the tiny apartment, those years of working and putting Serah through high school, and then to college, it was all at the expense of Lightnings' own time.

Serah bit down on the cookie, letting her mind wander off into the distance, and it took only a few moments of time for the pale fur to start receding, allowing her human skin to come forth again, to let her jawline smooth itself out, for her teeth to grow so very blunt again.

It was a human who looked back at her from the reflection in that rainy kitchen window, a human face, so very soft and calm, one who merely wondered what her sister could be getting up to, somewhere out in the city of lights.

* * *

They wandered through those foggy alleyways, watching out for any hint that they weren't alone, whether it was a stray scent or a low noise, a signal off in the distance, they waited and listened before moving on again. A lycanthrope on the prowl, a hunter within the streets, yet they were only as large as a dogs, and rather feral-looking dogs, at that.

Fang kept very close to Lightning's side, sniffing at the air, and it was only once she caught the scent of something sweet that she realized what they were searching for.

Most of Cocoon had laws against donating uneaten food to local charities, or even homeless shelters, for if the donation was to make someone sick, the legal ramifications would simply be too much to contend with. But that didn't stop most of the local bakeries and restaurants from 'forgetting' to toss out unsold food by the end of the day, where it was 'forgotten' in a nearby place, likely one that was known to have a rather high vagrant population, just waiting for someone to come along and take it.

And because it was so late in the night, and the pastries and bread already looked rather picked over, with only a few containers left, Lightning didn't even feel a shred of guilt when she snatched up a box between her teeth, swiftly carrying it away to a darker alley.

Fang did the same, grabbing a package of cupcakes that had errors in the frosting pattern, yet they would taste just as good as any other. She trotted on after Lightning, and they both soon settled down within a patch of crabgrass, the kind that grew out from cracks in the pavement, sheltered beneath a wide stretch of scaffolding.

"We lived off of things like this before I got the apartment." Lightning leaned in to tear the packaging apart with her teeth, digging down into the soft little pastries like she hadn't eaten in days. "Unless we could catch anything in the parks... Stuff like this was dinner."

Fang picked up one of the cupcakes and swallowed it whole, before she licked the frosting off from her muzzle. "Generous of them, isn't it?"

Lightning tore back a bit more of the packaging, holding it steady beneath her paws. "Better than throwing it in the garbage." She leaned in to grab another pastry, and she started to rip and chew it into pieces with those long, sharp teeth. "I found work wherever I could... Under the table, you know? I didn't have to give out my name that way, even a fake one, nothing they could track me with."

Fang's ears suddenly perked up at the sound of a distant train whistle. "You wouldn't need to work if you left with us."

Lightning bit down into another pastry. "They don't have food like this in Gran Pulse, and no grocery stores... Serah and I just can't hunt for squirrels every day without exhausting ourselves."

"Squirrels, Light?" Fang moved over to nudge at Lightning's neck with her nose. "A single elk could feed us all for _days_... Vanille and I can take down a weak one in less than a half hour."

Lightning kept very still for a while, even when Fang offered her a cupcake. "It's dangerous to cross the border... We'd be out in the open."

"Vanille and I made it, twice even." Fang moved to set the cupcake down on top of the pastries. "And you guys could, too."

Lightning didn't respond for a long while, just resting there in the rain, content to sit in silence with an old friend. It seemed to fit just as well as back when they were younger, speaking without words, sharing a meal within the shelter of such unused places, and when Lightning slowly started to eat again, she felt quite thankful that Fang didn't keep pushing the topic of departure.

Indeed, Lightning might have described what Fang was doing as 'wolfing' down her food, seemingly grateful for every last scrap of energy that it would provide her. If they needed to dash away upon a moment's notice, both the sugar and calories would be put to good use when they ran. And before long, they did run, even if there was nothing chasing them. They ran out beneath the rain, following the instinctual urge to move together in a pack formation, one following the other, moving through the streets and roads and little junctions until they reached that dark patch of woods again, the one that led back towards the apartment complex where Lightning lived.

"You think they noticed we left?" Fang peered out at that quiet little parking lot, sniffing to see if there were any scents that could indicate a nearby presence. "It's gonna be daylight, soon..."

Lightning slowly stepped back out from the undergrowth, making her way up towards the stairwell. "We were just taking a break." She looked over her shoulder when Fang followed after her, and they both hurried up to leap back through the unscreened window and into the living room, even though they were both rather drenched by the rain. "They're almost definitely still asleep."

Fang suddenly shook herself back and forth, ignoring the look from Lightning when she sent water droplets flying all around.

"This was... Reckless." Lightning soon shook herself out as well, before she slowly began to change her form, bringing skin out of fluff, much smaller ears, a receding set of teeth, and her jawline started to smooth itself out again, making a human out from a wolf. "But it was fun."

"I think you needed a little downtime." Fang peered at Lightning as she had before, with no clothing between them, for the act of shapeshifting was rather hindered by such immobile fabrics. "You might want to put your shirt back on, though."

Lightning didn't even blush, she simply stood up to close the window and lock it down, before she waked over towards the sofa to retrieve her nightshirt and flannel pants, tugging them on while Fang moved up beside her.

"I just want you to know..." Fang's voice was low and soft, and she still spoke in that lupine way, slowly changing back into her own human body. "Whatever you decide to do, I've got your back, Light."

Lightning sat down beside the couch, resting against the floor, watching the way that Fang knelt there without clothing, shadowed by the light of that rainy window.

"Just like old times." Fang slowly leaned back against the makeshift bed of blankets, and she smiled, just a faint ghost in the darkness, yet it was still just as warm as her words. "We should stick together now... You hear me?"

Lightning merely sat there for a while, thinking over the entire scope of such possibilities, of how Serah always spoke of school, of learning and teaching and growing in the ways of the mind. How could she possibly do that out in the middle of nowhere, in a place with only a few scattered settlements?

"Don't think too hard about it, at least not this late..." Fang yawned and settled herself down, fully human again, yet Lightning could almost imagine a long, fluffy tail wagging there against the blankets. "I know, they don't have cupcakes in Gran Pulse."

Lightning tried not to smirk. "Sounds like a deal breaker to me."

Fang just grunted quietly, closing her eyes. "So, what... If I bring you some cupcakes, then I can hang around here without getting chased off?"

Lightning leaned forward, and she gently tapped Fang's shoulder. "I'm not going to chase you off."

Those words brought forth a rather toothy smile, yet Fang still didn't open her eyes. "But the cupcakes would help, right?" She fell silent when Lightning suddenly kissed her forehead. "...I've really been missing stuff like that."

Lightning lowered her voice. "Cupcakes or kisses?"

"Would I be in trouble if I said both?" Fang smirked when she felt Lightning swat the side of her head, just a gentle touch. "We had a really good thing going, you know."

Lightning took a moment just to listen to a soft sound from one of the other rooms, likely one of their younger companions. "We did."

"So..." Fang slowly opened her eyes. "You seeing anyone?"

Lightning just sighed, before she let herself lean down against the blankets, abandoning the sofa in favor of being closer to Fang. "No. Hardly any other lycans in the area, anyway."

"Does it have to be one of us?" Fang smiled at the warmth at her side, and she carefully wrapped her arm around to let Lightning rest her head against it. "Like you said, it's not like we aren't human."

"I don't want anyone else, Fang." Lightning slowly reached out to hold Fang's hand. "If you hadn't shown up today... There's no one else."

"Can't say I'm not relieved." Fang soon tugged one of the blankets over herself, just in case one of their fellow apartment dwellers decided to take that moment to wake up and enter the living room. "It's been too long, Light... I really missed you."

Lightning settled in beneath the blanket as well, close and warm and utterly safe, even within a world that seemed so intent on having her slain, even with the bills she had yet to pay for, all of the walls that still needed painting, even the fact that her job was setting down so much strain upon her shoulders, physical and mental alike, in that moment, laying beside an old friend, it felt like she could finally start to breathe. "Welcome back, Fang."


	3. Chapter 3

The adrenaline had since worn down into a dull state of exhaustion, of dragging limbs and a heart that must have weighed a thousand tons. He was resting for the moment, for the river would have cut off his scent from those still on his trail, at least for the time being. Hope's eyes were squeezed shut, and he was clutching his arms against his chest, trying to draw in yet another breath, just to make sure his lungs were still working.

The moonlight faded off into the early darkness of a new day, an hour of silence and stillness, the time for deep sleep and motionless preparation. A distant lark called out into the misty air, and Hope's ears twitched at the sound, still pointy and covered in that soft, silver-white fur. He was just laying there, listening to the sounds of the gathering dawn, still in the form of a lycanthrope.

The part of him that screamed for survival began to calm itself down to a low roar, but it was still so very present. Even when his mind wandered off to the possibility of just resting there for as long as he could, to wait for his pursuers to catch up and find him, even then, he knew he couldn't just give up the chase. If he was just going to lay down and accept it, then his mother would have surely scolded him for that, wouldn't she?

Hope let out a rough cough against the dry, dusty ground, for he was sprawled on his side upon an embankment, watching the blurry stars fade out from up above. His legs were still bleeding, as were his arms and torso, but none of his limbs were quite mangled up in the way that his mother's hind leg had been. Was it the other lycan who'd caught her? Had it bitten and torn up her muscles so she couldn't run away from the gunfire?

He'd killed some of them, he knew that for a fact, but it just couldn't seem to breach the barricade in his mind. Hope felt his chest tighten up with a low growl, but he simply coughed again, so aching and pained, wheezing out with every inch of his being. The bullets sank deep into his flesh, and his body could only do so much to push them and make them fall back out again, to stitch himself back together and heal all of his wounds away. His backpack was likely lost to the danger of turning back towards the woods, and without his clothing or supplies, he had little other options but to continue on within the form of a beast.

Hope slowly tried to stand up again, but he faltered slightly, scrabbling down the embankment until he reached out to grab at the crumbly soil with his claws, just enough to haul himself up to the slope that lay above.

He sat there within the form of a true lycan, more humanoid than anything else, yet he still had those distinctive lupine features; fluffy, muscular limbs, a narrow face, a long muzzle, yellow eyes, even a twitching nose. It was a good nose, better than most beasts could ever hope for, enough that he could find his way along even in pitch darkness, though his eyes could still see each tiny blade of grass within the night.

In the back of his mind, he knew that focusing upon the simpler things was simply a coping mechanism, a ruse to keep himself from pausing to mourn her, to accept the fact that he was all alone, that she would be gone for the rest of his life. His eyes welled up with tears again, a uniquely human feature, but as he slowly let himself change forms, the liquid simply fell away into the morning air.

He ran as a wolf, a much smaller, more inconspicuous beast, and even if he couldn't leap as far as his lycan body could, he could run with greater ease, and he could put more distance between himself and those who were likely still on the prowl for his trail.

The part of him that called out for survival, he let it take the lead, let it guide his steps across those long, misty fields, past the forests that stretched on for what felt like so many hours, into the grasslands that led towards even more trees. He ran through the meadows, into golden hours of the day, beneath the slowly rising sun, yet when he looked up at the dark sky, into the soft, golden hues of the morning, he knew that he had more than just a scrap of his mother's hope left to follow.

* * *

The rain slowed down into a soft drizzle, almost silent within the misty streets. Raindrops still trickled down upon the roof of the apartment complex, inside of which an alarm clock suddenly started to blare.

Vanille woke with a start, and she murmured in a rather wounded way, as if the sound might actually lessen if she just pleaded with it. She mumbled to herself, rolling over beneath the sheets of the bed.

 _Bed?_ Vanille slowly opened her eyes, and she stared at the ceiling above her. When had she gotten a bed? Fang was still surely leading her towards- And she realized, then, that they had actually _found_ them, both Lightning and Serah in the city, and that where she was currently resting, for it was in fact Lightning's bed, and the alarm clock that kept buzzing and ringing away at her, it must have been meant for Lightning as well.

Vanille sat up with a quiet yawn, and she fumbled around to reach for the insistent little device, poking and prodding at it for the right button to shut the alarm off, and when she finally found it, she slowly caught the softer sounds of someone else waking up as well. Lightning would probably still be sleeping somewhere down the hall, Vanille knew that much. She stood up from the bed and gathered up her own clothes from the top of the dresser, but she took a long moment just to look at the long, reddened scratch on her arm.

It was a shallow cut, though it was indeed rather lengthy, even with the ointment that Fang had helped her put on it. Vanille slowly bit her bottom lip, examining the scratch. She knew that there was little she could hide away from her fellow lycans, and Lightning was always especially watchful for any injuries, but such explanations might only do more harm than good.

Vanille sat back down on the bed, sighing with an almost silent sort of whimper. She might be rather skillful at keeping those little lies behind laughter and smiles, but it always put a strain upon her own mind just to keep things secret, even for the greater good. They were guests of that house, or the apartment, as it was, and the place of a guest was not to introduce any further troubles... No, it was to alleviate them.

She quickly dressed herself, tugging on the simple shirt and skirt that she had worn the previous day, before she skipped away from the bed and out into the hall, down the path that would lead her beyond the kitchen and the front entryway, into the cozy little living room. And what she saw there, it made her stop still in her tracks.

Beneath the blanket, Fang was all curled up, dozing into the early hours of the day, and in her arms, snuggled against her chest, Vanille could only see Lightning's hair and neck, for she seemed to have cuddled herself close enough to hide her face away.

Vanille glanced off to the side, before she slowly stepped over to sit down upon the unused sofa. "Hey, Light? Your alarm..."

All was silent except for those quiet little sounds of breathing and the faint rain outside the apartment, and then the soft noise of someone else moving around, likely from Serah in her own room.

Vanille bit at her bottom lip again, and she raised her voice ever so slightly. "Lightning?"

Fang stirred instead, murmuring in her sleep.

"Light." Vanille reached down to gently tap Lightning's shoulder. "Light, your alarm went off."

It was only a moment or two before Lightning leaned away from the warmth of Fang's neck, and her face slowly began to flush. "Alarm..."

Vanille looked to the side again, nodding. "Yeah."

Lightning tried not to fully pry herself out from Fang's arms, mostly because of that current state of undress. Instead, she slowly moved herself away, simultaneously covering Fang up in a rather generous share of the blanket.

"It's okay, Light." Vanille spoke very softly. "She really missed you, you know."

Lightning sat up on the floor, and she began to straighten and smooth out her nightshirt. "I couldn't sleep last night... It helped to be close."

Vanille nodded to herself, relaxing against the couch. "Is it okay if I use the TV?"

Lightning rose up to her feet. "Of course."

Vanille smiled, and she reached for the remote, which had been resting against one of the sofa pillows. She turned on the television while Lightning walked off into the hallway, all while Fang kept dozing away on the floor.

The television itself seemed to be a rather ancient device, quite unlike the flat screen displays that one might have seen in the more affluent districts of the city, or even the simple holograms intended for advertising purposes. No, it was more of a rectangular box, one with a slightly fuzzy screen and even fuzzier audio, though it was audible all the same. The sudden voices of a morning soap opera were soon met with the sounds of distant water, likely a shower being started up within the bathroom, and then with the soft noise of a door clicking shut, before Serah herself wandered into the hallway.

"Hey." Vanille smiled as she looked up from the remote. "Do some of the buttons not work right..?"

Serah walked over to point out a certain button. "These ones are always finicky." She glanced down at Fang, who was still slumbering beneath the blankets. "Just keep it low enough not to wake her up."

"Will do." Vanille nodded, before she changed the channel to what looked like an infomercial, and then on to something else, likely the local news. "Thanks, Serah."

"No problem." Serah made her way back towards the front hall. "The blue buttons on the side are for volume."

Vanille listened to the sounds of the television for a while, as well as the quiet thrum of the shower, and then those low noises from the kitchen, where Serah had gone. It felt almost odd not to have woken up out in the woods or in an lonely alleyway somewhere, to be in an actual building, one that wasn't condemned or abandoned, or even falling apart... They had once traveled together, all four of them, roaming and living as best as they could with the little supplies they had, hunting or scavenging for food, sleeping by daylight and waking up in the evenings to roam across the world in silence. Lightning grew to become a leader of sorts, a level mind in the face of such brutality, of fierce hunters and nature itself, of stray gunshots in the dark.

Vanille slowly leaned down over the sofa, resting her head against the arm of the couch. She lifted her hand, letting her sleeve fall down to reveal the cut on her skin, before she carefully covered it back up again. Just another reminder of that lurking threat, the eyes in the shadows, those who hunted them day by day, only relenting whenever they managed to slip the snare, to go undetected again.

Fang suddenly murmured in her sleep, reaching out for someone that wasn't there, moving around beneath the blankets. Vanille looked down at her, and she remembered the times when Fang had needed such similar comfort, just someone to hold and hug onto, someone to protect.

Vanille smiled softly, tracing her fingertips down over her own arm. It was different between the two of them, she knew, for while they did love each other unconditionally, it was more of the unbreakable bond between surrogate siblings; Fang didn't see her as anyone who might ever go away, as someone less than absolutely stable, and in doing so, their relationship was both solid and rather static, quite platonic, yet loving all the same. It wasn't like with Lightning, Vanille realized, someone aloof and unyielding, yet so gentle, someone on a whole different level than either of them, someone unique. Vanille knew that Fang fancied Lightning in a more intimate way, even if it only manifested in silent embraces, resting against each other for warmth, a sort of endearment that never quite progressed past 'puppy love', at least for a while. But as they grew older, into adolescence, those later years saw more and more nights where they would run off with each other and not return until daylight, but that was only when the area around them seemed rather safe. In more dangerous times, Lightning simply would not leave Serah's side, while Vanille experienced the same very thing with Fang.

The sound of something in the kitchen drew Vanille away from her thoughts, and she glanced over at the television again. A newswoman was standing beside some sort of platform, one with bright decorations and people who wore summer hats and ribbons, and that was when Vanille realized what they were all speaking about. Cocoon was rather well-known for a few 'silly' holidays, days without any historical or religious context, times in which people would gather and celebrate for no real reason other than certain seasonal things, or even the change of seasons itself. And that very same day, it was one Vanille knew well.

She found herself skipping over to the kitchen, where Serah was cracking an egg against the edge of the counter. "Serah!"

Serah glanced up, before she split the eggshell above a bowl of several other egg whites and yolks. "Yes?"

"Hey, don't tell me you don't know..." Vanille stepped up to the counter as well. "Summer Day."

Serah's eyes lit up slightly, and her mouth twitched in amusement. "Already? I must've lost track of time..."

Vanille nodded, leaning over to look at what Serah was making. "Nothing planned, then?"

Serah shook her head, and she started to stir up the eggs, pouring out a bit of milk into the bowl. "We've been pretty busy fixing the place up... If Lightning's too tired tonight to keep painting the spare room, we might just have to wait until next Sunday."

Vanille almost frowned. "She doesn't get Saturday off?"

Serah shook her head again. "She could, but if it means more-" She glanced away, still stirring up the eggs. "She seems to handle it well."

Vanille looked down at where a package of sliced bread was resting on the counter. "Can I help with this?"

Serah nodded. "Could you get the stove lit? There's a skillet in the cupboard, there."

Vanille stepped over towards the stove, and she carefully turned the dial. "Do you think I could help with painting the room?"

"If you'd like..." Serah took a moment to stir up the eggs into a fluffy sort of mixture, quite frothy and light. "I can help you with it after classes, today."

Vanille started to smile, and she moved over to get the skillet ready. "It'll be fun... If Fang and I are gonna be here for a while, then it'd be good to catch up with you two."

Serah smiled as well, and she set down the bowl of eggs, before she picked up a stick of butter and sliced off a tiny bit from the end. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Vanille watched the way that Serah spread the butter down against the bottom of the skillet. "It's been too long... We really missed you guys."

Serah listened to the hiss of the butter against the heat of the stove, and she gently tapped at it with a spatula. "We missed you, too, even if Light seems a little-"

"I know, Serah." Vanille leaned her forearms against the countertop. "She's got a whole lot to deal with, doesn't she?"

A sudden flicker of guilt crossed Serah's face, but she merely sprinkled a bit of salt and a dash of pepper into the egg mixture. "More than she should... I can tell that she comes home exhausted, Vanille, even if she tries to hide it."

Vanille watched the way that the eggs slowly filled out into the bottom of the skillet, fluffy and bubbling. "We were a family back then." She glanced down at where the cut still lingered beneath her sleeve. "We'll do whatever we can."

* * *

Lightning rested her head against the wall of the shower, slowly running her hands over her arms, washing them within a floral scented soap. She could hear the drumming of the water all around her, feeling how it pattered down against her skin, and she took in a deep breath of the air, which was still more than a bit tinged with the scent of cleaning chemicals. When they first toured the little apartment, the bathroom had been in an even worse state than the living room, but it came at a rather hefty discount with such necessary repairs, and Lightning knew how to work with her hands.

When she was just a child, after leaving their first home, her mother found them a different house to stay in, a noisy place with dozens of other people, all living and working and bustling all about. At first, it was all Lightning could do just to watch over Serah while their mother worked the days away as well, at least for the first few weeks. It was only later on, once Serah settled into the routine of going off to preschool and eventually elementary classes, only then did Lightning refuse to go with her, for their mother could barely keep up with the the pace.

She knew it wasn't free, nothing was ever free in such a place; they had to work to earn their meals and lodging, and Lightning would swiftly throw a fit of silence and utter refusal if she was told to go and waste her time at school instead of helping her mother meet the quota. It took many days of such behavior before her mother even stopped trying, secretly grateful for the assistance. Lightning often wondered if that was why she didn't seem to worry much about who would take care of Serah in those later days, when a strange disease rose up and fully claimed her away.

Serah barely remembered the death of her father, but the toll of losing her mother, she'd gone so very quiet and still, hugging the one who could barely even move anymore, the one so ready to leave the world in peaceful silence. It took days just to coax Serah into leaving their room, even once it was only the two of them, so very alone, with next to nothing to tie them there towards the group house.

Lightning slowly reached for the container of shampoo. Had they finally chased that dream down, had they found another home to spend the rest of their lives in? She gently began to lather up her hair, those soft pink strands that looked so much like her mother's, the only physical legacy that might remain of her. She and Serah carried that same blood, their curse, the lycans who lived on despite such sparse conditions.

The water was warm enough to lull her down into a state of daydreaming, but the physical side, the internal timekeeper that scolded her for dozing off or dallying, it made sure that Lightning kept to her schedule, washing and rinsing herself in a hurry to get back to such daily work. If the rain had stopped, then working outside would be all the more preferable, especially if the harbor docks had dried off enough not to be slippery beneath her shoes.

It was only a minute or two before she sent the water away with a slight twist of the dial, letting herself drip dry for a moment, until she reached out for a towel.

The walls weren't very thin, they had that much to be thankful for, but she could still hear the sounds of people talking within her own apartment. There was a voice that sounded like Serah, and then Vanille, but the noises were still rather muffled, especially when she moved the towel up to dry off her hair and ears.

Lightning soon wrapped the fabric around herself, and she opened the door in an attempt to get back to her room and get dressed, but she soon met with some resistance, before someone moved away from the opposite side of the wall.

"Sorry, Light." Fang's voice drifted in from beside the door, and she made herself visible, gently rubbing at the cut on her cheek. "I was just waiting to grab a bandage, if that's okay."

Lightning held the towel a bit closer against herself. "...Of course it's okay."

Fang smiled softly. "Just wanted to make sure."

Lightning walked away, leaving the bathroom door open for Fang, before she made her way out into her own room, where she closed the door just as quietly as she could. There it was, that fluttering in her chest that just came on like sudden rainfall, silent and turbulent and enough to make her narrow her eyes in frustration. They were _friends_ , friends who were sometimes just a little bit more than that, so why did the mere proximity make her feel like a lovesick puppy?

She swiftly dressed herself in simple work clothes, worn jeans and a thin shirt to keep the sweat at bay, as well as a light jacket, just in case the weather came back in full force instead of just the occasional raindrop. Her closet was rather full of the same material as the clothes she'd chosen for the day, quite simple and plain, things that nobody would even notice in a crowd, cheap fabric that could be stitched back up if the occasional mishap happened to rip at certain seams.

Her nose twitched at the scent of breakfast, and Lightning's stomach began to whine, even after such a sugary midnight snack. It would only be burned away, she knew, from the day that had yet to start. She made her way back into the hall, past Serah's bedroom and the room that had yet to be fully painted, beside the bathroom and into the small corridor that linked the front hall and the kitchen, and then the living room beyond it.

"Light!" Vanille smiled at her from her seat at the kitchen table. "Just in time."

Serah was carrying a plate of scrambled eggs and toast over to Fang, who was also sitting at the table, and Lightning made her way to take a seat as well.

"I just hope these aren't cold already..." Serah walked over to turn the stove back to low heat for a moment, poking at the scrambled eggs with the spatula. "Mondays, huh?"

They all shared a low murmur of agreement, still quite drowsy beneath the darkness of the rain clouds.

"What a day." Serah leaned over to look out from one of the kitchen windows. "Terrible day for a holiday, isn't it?"

Fang took a small bite of toast. "Holiday?"

Vanille smiled and tried not to fidget on the chair. "Last official day of summer..."

Lightning spoke up, but she still sounded rather sleepy. "Summer's End."

"Or Summer Day." Vanille went back to her plate of eggs as well. "I like that one better, it sounds a lot more festive!"

Lightning bit back a yawn, but she nodded at Serah when a plate of eggs and toast was set down before her as well. "Thank you... And Vanille, just wait until All Hallow's Eve."

Vanille almost bounced up in excitement, barely containing herself into once place. "Oh, I _know!_ So much to do on that one; candy apples, pumpkin carving, trick or treating-"

Lightning poked the end of her fork into the pile of eggs. "A holy day, originally... A day of saints and witches living in peace, just as absurd as it sounds."

"A holy day? Really?" Fang spoke between one bite of food and the next. "Saints and witches... The witch part makes sense."

Serah sat down with her own plate of breakfast. "Holidays always change over the years."

Lightning nodded. "And most people don't remember the part about lycans."

It was a steady sort of silence that settled itself within the kitchen, only punctuated by the quiet sound of forks against plates, of a breakfast eaten swiftly, at least by Lightning herself. It was only a short while before her plate was empty once more, and she stood up to carry it over beside the dishwasher, where she found a paper bag waiting for her upon the counter.

"Have a good day, Light." Serah stood up to hug her sister, and she smiled at the way Lightning hugged back, so gentle and warm. "Don't push yourself too much, okay?"

"Right." Lightning moved away after a moment, carrying the paper bag in one hand while she reached for her purse with her other, which had been hanging on a coat rack beside the archway, the one that led towards the front hall. "Have a good time at class, and tell me if you miss the bus again."

Fang suddenly stood up, having finished nearly all of her own breakfast as well. "You take the bus to work?" She stepped over to the front entryway as well, just within sight of the kitchen. "I'll walk you there."

Lightning paused at the way that Fang hadn't even waited for an answer, but with a quick glance towards Serah and Vanille, she turned away to unlock the small chain on the front door. "Alright."

Fang winked back at the kitchen out of the corner of her gaze, and she followed Lightning out into the drizzly terrace, deep within the early morning mist. "Chilly today, isn't it?"

Lightning almost stepped up to lock the door behind her, before she tucked her keys back down into her purse. "Serah can get it later, you'll need a way back in."

Fang sniffed at the crisp summer air, and she followed after Lightning again, down the metal stairwell that led towards the ground level apartments, off into the parking lot that stood right beside the edge of the woods. "Almost feels like fall..."

Lightning nodded. "It was a good summer."

"You won't be working outside in the winter, right?" Fang waited for Lightning to answer, but even as they walked off towards the sidewalk, into the less residential pathway that led towards the city itself, she still didn't receive a response. "Light..."

"I don't need anyone to worry about me." Lightning kept her eyes on the road ahead, carrying the paper bag in one hand and holding the thin strap of her purse in the other. "It doesn't matter what the weather is, I can still work in it regardless."

Fang tried not to sigh at Lightning, still following on behind her. "Even in the cold?"

Lightning looked up to see the lone bus stop, thankfully not a very long walk from the apartments. "Every day, Fang... We have bills to pay."

There was that old anger, suddenly, that fire that rose up in her mind, and Fang began to grit her sharpened teeth together, trying to keep herself under absolute control. It would be so simple to snap, to tell Lightning that she was a damn _lycanthrope_ , that she should take pride in the strength that made the human race fear them so very desperately, enough to drive a wedge between those with the gift and those without. Some called it a curse, Fang knew, yet she also knew it was the stuff of mere fairy tales, to make children behave so that the wolves wouldn't steal them away, but what those stories never seemed to know, never seemed to take into account, it was that wolves had children, too.

They were both grown now, yet Lightning still clung to that childhood mindset, that just because she didn't think that she herself mattered, it didn't mean it was true, and it was just enough to make Fang stifle a low growl, deep in her throat. It felt almost physically painful to see how Lightning sat down against the bench, so weary and worn, just like the scrapes on the knees of her jeans, like the rest of the lower city, the class that worked their entire lives away for the ones they so dearly loved.

Fang began to sit down on the bench as well, and she tried not to think such bitter thoughts of Serah, for there was no question that she didn't mean to cause such things, a mere victim of circumstance and Lightning's devotion, but it was so very hard not to resolve to confront her about leaving the city for a better life, to take the burden off from Lightning's shoulders... To let her free.

Lightning sat there with her purse on her lap, resting her head against the back of the bench, and it almost looked as though she might fall asleep again. Fang felt a stab of guilt rush right through her stomach at the thought of their little midnight run, of how much sleep Lightning must have lost from such a venture.

The nearby cars rolled on down the street, splashing through the puddles in the pavement. Fang could smell the wafts of gasoline, of the misty dew, even of Lightning's own scent, and of the traces of floral soap on her skin.

Lightning yawned, but she stifled it with her wrist, before she sat up just a bit straighter, waiting for the bus to arrive. "Summer Day... Serah might want to celebrate."

Fang leaned back against the bench. "Used to get pizza, didn't we? Or go to the fair, if there was one."

Lightning started to twirl one of the bits of loose fabric on her purse between her fingertips. "I get done with work around five."

"A little too late to go looking for festivities." Fang glanced up at the sky. "This damn rain... I just hope it clears up by then."

Lightning suddenly looked off to the side, watching as a large vehicle approached from a hill in the road, a bus that was almost right on time. "We'll have to see."

Fang glanced at the way Lightning took out a plastic card from her purse, a bus pass by the look of it, and it was only mere moments before the bus itself rumbled up to the stop, opening those doors with a mechanical hiss and a creak. Lightning stepped up towards the side stair, and she turned to bid goodbye to Fang, who merely smiled at her, waiting for her to step into the bus itself.

Lightning slid the pass card through the terminal near the front of the seats, but when she suddenly heard the click of a few coins behind her, disappearing into the receptacle that received physical payment...

Fang simply slipped away into the back of the bus, wandering down the aisle, past all the sleepy people on their own ways to work, and she sat down in one of the only available rows, one that had a single empty seat beside it.

Lightning narrowed her eyes, but she knew that holding up the bus to confront Fang would only earn her the ire of her fellow passengers. So she merely began to stalk her way down the aisle as well, sitting silently on the seat beside Fang. "It's your choice... Your money to waste."

"Riding to work with you isn't a waste." Fang began to lean back again, gazing out from the window as the bus rumbled forward, traveling on down the city streets. "Haven't seen you in years, Light."

Lightning sat with her purse on her lap, along with the paper bag, where she could smell the distinct scent of a peanut butter sandwich from inside.

"I won't bother you once we get there." Fang watched the rainy streets from the window, leaning against the wall of the bus. "Just wasn't feeling like going back... Not yet, anyway."

Lightning glanced at the other aisles of the bus, the ones with three seats that stood opposite from them, and she felt rather thankful that the side Fang had chosen only had two seats per row.

"Are you mad at me?" Fang's voice was soft enough for only Lightning to hear. "I get it, if you are."

Lightning slowly shook her head, and she tried to relax as well. "I'm not mad."

"But you aren't happy." Fang stared at those city sights, at the distant skyscrapers, rising so very high into the cloudy air. "What can I do to make you happy?"

Lightning kept quiet for a long while, content to merely listen to the low sounds of the rumbling bus, to the people all around her. She could smell all the different scents of humanity, so many numerous things, from cigarette smoke to the strong wisps morning coffee, even the faint touches of a loved one, a goodbye kiss for the work day, a hug from a family member, all caught by the keen nose of a lycan.

Fang started to let her eyes drift out of focus, lost in the blur of movement and sound, all up until she felt a sudden source of warmth against her shoulder, of Lightning leaning herself so close, but still so very chaste. She was just resting there, a lone wolf in the crowd, a friend in the dark, and those soft blue eyes slowly began to slip shut.

It kept the pain away to know that there was someone else out there. Fang slowly closed her eyes as well, reaching out to set her hand between them, where Lightning soon took gentle hold of it, hidden from any curious eyes within the bus. It kept the pain away to touch, to know that she carried the burden as well, to know that someone else had fought against the world and won, had lived to see yet another day, had grown strong enough to help others do the same. And Fang was definitely strong, Lightning thought, while drifting off into a low slumber. She was strong and she was swift, and if she was ready to be that close again, then the path was clear enough for them both to walk upon.

Fang slowly opened her eyes again, gazing at the way Lightning slept there against her shoulder. It was simple exhaustion, she knew, just a reaction to feeling so safe beside a friend, to let herself sleep for just a moment longer, at least until they reached the harbor piers.

Was it wrong to try and steal her away, Fang wondered, to steal her and Serah away, off to a whole new world, a simpler life, where they could live out their days in peace? Gran Pulse had its share of hardships, but for a wild beast, one who accepted itself, there was no greater hunting ground.

Lightning murmured something in her sleep, and Fang tried to stifle a sigh, grateful at least for the trust that still lingered between them. She might never know if Lightning truly loved her, or if they were both even capable of that kind of love, but there was _something_ there, something so undeniably strong.

"I'm here now, Light..." Fang slowly let go of her hand, and she wrapped her arm around the small of Lightning's back, silently promising to wake her up before they reached the harbor. "I'll take care of you."

* * *

It had been rather simple to convince Serah to teach her the basic techniques of painting a wall, and Vanille soon had the whole apartment to herself, alone with the buckets of paint and as many paintbrushes as she could use.

There was a tiny radio that stood upon the tarp, one that Serah had rummaged out from the storage room, and Vanille danced on her heels into the soft morning light, painting and humming along to the twangs of the happiest songs she could find. She painted long strokes upon the walls, careful to keep the layers even, to make it blend in with what Serah and Lightning had done the previous day.

The guitar kicked up on the radio speakers, and Vanille smiled when the tempo began to quicken as well, bright and cheery despite the heavy rain clouds, almost as if she was dancing in the puddles on the streets. She would have been out there herself if there wasn't the need to lock up the front door, something that Serah had told her made Lightning feel very uncomfortable otherwise, and Vanille quickly agreed to watch over the apartment while they were away.

And it was a long while indeed, Vanille thought, so she soon took a break near midday to get a bit of lunch from the refrigerator, something that she was sure neither of her hosts would mind. She was painting a room for them, after all.

Vanille sat down upon the couch again, switching on the television, which sent her back to the daily news, only there was a bulletin from the city of Eden itself instead of the local fare. Vanille knew that politics were rather important in the long run, but normally she just couldn't stand all the talking and posturing and doing nothing... If there were changes to be made, why not just get up and make them? She began to eat the bit of toast she had fixed for herself, a piece of bread with strawberry jelly on one side. Why did they always call for things, for change, for things to be better, and expect others to jump up and do it for them? There were some, she knew, who were indeed actually trying to change the world, and yet they hardly ever seemed to be shown for it.

There was a man at the podium who speaking to a crowd, and it was only when he spoke in a certain tone that Vanille actually began to pay attention to what he was saying.

"Absolutely archaic laws, standings that have _no_ place in a modern state of-"

Another voice interrupted him. "You would have wolves in the streets, Senator?" Those words drew quiet laughter from the crowd. "In the courthouses?"

Vanille's eyes went very wide.

The man stared straight into the camera. "I would have an incurable disease taken seriously... I would have our citizens live in safety, offered asylum from such barbaric standards."

And Vanille knew, even if she had no physical way of knowing, no true shred of proof, she knew that the man in the tailored suit, the senator, as they called him, that he had his own secret to hide, even if none of his peers could sense it.

It was a long while before she went back to painting the walls, to humming along with the tune of the radio, but her thoughts lingered upon the voice she had heard from the television, of a lone politician, the man who simply called for asylum.

* * *

Lightning brushed off a bit of sweat from her brow, before she knelt down to heft up yet another crate from the ground. Yet there she was, the one who worked beside her, one who seemed intent on staying quite close to her side, even when the day's work called for many different areas of the harbor.

How had it even come to that, Lightning wondered, how had she stepped off of the bus with the intent to shoo Fang away, yet only succeeded in being talked into asking her boss for a job opportunity? Fang had always been a crafty one, so very persistent with the things she had her heart set on, and it had taken rather little effort to get her on the list of workers who were paid by alternative means. Her boss, a steadfast sort of man who often looked out for his people, he had taken one look at Lightning and seemed to mull over how loyal she had been over the years, and then at how strong Fang looked, and that was enough to earn her a place on the cargo lifting crew, even if it was only a temporary position.

Lifting, of course. _'Lift with your knees, not your back,'_ it was a piece of advice Lightning carried with her all the way from childhood, and as she watched Fang do the same, winking at her with two boxes stacked in her arms, they both did that very same thing.

There were warehouses to fill, jobs that machines just didn't have the finesse to carry out, to haul heavy crates down over the stairwells of the docks and then back again, carrying new goods up to where they would be taken away in the evening, sorted out by the night crew.

It was heavy work, so very tedious and solid, manual labor and not much else. The only thought involved was to read off which platform that the goods were headed, or where to call the next shipment in for lifting, for fragile goods, especially. The more unusual objects had to be carried with great care, and they had to be unpacked and reloaded into small, sturdy boxes, for which they would later be hauled off by those massive machines, carried to the unloading bays where they would soon be driven away in delivery trucks.

The hours passed by in relative silence, all except for the calls of gliding seagulls and the distant boat horns, of bells and marching feet, but when the lunch whistle finally made itself known, Lightning finally found the time to speak with Fang again.

"You smell it, right?" Lightning kept her voice very low. "I don't know his name, but you can tell."

Fang nodded, for she had indeed caught the scent of a fellow lycanthrope, one who didn't seem too keen on openly acknowledging them, either. "Yeah..." They were walking on over the docks, back towards the small station where Lightning had left her lunch bag and purse in one of the lockers, and even though Fang herself hadn't brought anything along, it was more than a welcome respite just to converse with her again. "What a workout..."

Lightning almost smiled. "Keeps you in shape."

"You aren't kidding." Fang stretched her arms out to either side, still traveling on down the harbor docks. "But the question is, is the pay good?"

Lightning began to walk up the stairs to the station doors, and as she stepped inside, she felt the sudden blast of the air conditioner against her skin, before she quietly let out a sigh. "It keeps the bills paid."

The lockers were right there in the break room, but Lightning simply retrieved her lunch and gestured for Fang to follow her, moving back outside again to walk beneath the cloudy sunlight. There was a patch of grass that overlooked the harbor, and Lightning made her way up the short incline, sitting down upon the very height of the hill.

Fang inhaled the scents of the sea, the salty air that swept all around them within the wind, before she caught the aroma of peanut butter and bread, and then the hint of something much sweeter.

"Figures." Lightning tried not to smile, holding up one of the cookies between them. "She said the neighbors brought these over..."

Fang smiled as well when Lightning gave her a cookie of her own. "Nice of them."

"Yeah." Lightning lifted half of the sandwich out from a plastic bag. "I told her they were probably just doing it to check if the house still smelled like weed."

Fang snorted, fighting back a laugh. " _Really?_ "

"In similar words." Lightning took a small bite of her sandwich. "Why do you think we got it so cheap? I know it's mostly legal around here, but the place _reeked_ before they had it fumigated for the ants... That, and the smell of cat hair; the old tenant probably got kicked out more for that than the weed, no allergenic pets allowed."

Fang's nose wrinkled at the thought of such things. "I was wondering about that..."

Lightning kept eating her sandwich, gazing out at the sea. "It still smells like cats, doesn't it?"

Fang nodded. "Let's just hope it fades."

Lightning leaned back a bit, and she glanced up at that cloudy sky, still looming with the promise of rain. "Serah seems happy here."

"She does." Fang soon finished the cookie, gazing out over the ocean waves. "How's the school been?"

Lightning looked back down at the hill they were resting upon, and at the way Fang was sitting with her legs crossed, facing the sea. "I only know from what she tells me, but it sounds like things have been going well enough."

Fang nodded at nothing in particular. "She's a smart one, Light."

Lightning nodded as well. "She always has been."

Silence filled the air around them, and Lightning went back to finishing her lunch. She slipped Fang half of her sandwich, even when it seemed like she might not accept such a thing, but in the end, Fang took the offered piece, and then another cookie as well. Such things were once the norm, sharing meals, making sure they both had enough to eat, caring for each other as a family, not just as friends.

Lightning soon brushed the crumbs away from her fingertips, and she folded up the paper bag, carrying it back down over the hill. Fang followed on from behind, gazing out over the harbor, and she knew that their work was likely only halfway through.

They would go back to carrying boxes, to organizing shipments, and Fang would wonder just how Lightning managed to do it every day. A deeper sort of respect began to bloom in her mind, growing steadily with each heavy crate that Lightning carried, surely aided by her abnormal genetics, from the boon of lycanthropy, yet it was still a feat to be witnessed.

Fang thought back to those days in Gran Pulse, just a handful of lazy summers, hunting for her meals and ignoring the very concept of humanity. She had been a lycan and only that, not a human who toiled away for mere food and lodging, yet that was the very same barrier she now faced. Had Lightning forgotten about the times when they were just young teens, wild and free, even if they were so ruthlessly hunted? Had she forgotten the very spirit of those wolves, rebellious and caring only for their own family?

In the back of her mind, Fang knew that such things were selfish, that society didn't operate on that sort of standard, but the fact that such a society would also actively see their kind slain for what they were, it was a rather bitter concept to take to heart.

Yet Lightning was living there beside her fellow humans, working into the late afternoon, fully cooperative and eager to earn her keep. It was a steady realization, one Fang that had started to suspect from the moment that trail of scent led her to Lightning's apartment; she'd let the wolf fade away, concealed behind such endless human activity, a household, a job, bills to pay, bedrooms instead of sleeping in the fields or in abandoned places... It was a transformation seen nearly complete.

Fang knew it wasn't a physical change, yet she couldn't help but frown at the way Lightning no longer seemed so very feral, a wild force of power locked within a human body. No, when she looked at those soft blue eyes, still quite steely with the need to provide for her family, even then, it was quite clear that she wasn't the same person who ran so fearlessly beneath gunshots and mortar fire. Those were human eyes, steadily keeping the wolf at bay, so tame and docile, yet somewhat threatened by the idea of ever returning again, just enough to make the beast show itself in Fang's first presence.

Fang watched the way that Lightning lifted one of the crates up a short flight of stairs, still just as strong as she had ever been, likely even stronger. If she truly had been tamed, Fang realized, then it would only take a matter of trust and time to draw her more primal senses back, to lead them on out again, off into the slowly approaching fray.

* * *

The classroom was larger than most of the others, wide and tall, lit by the low sunlight of the many narrow windows. Serah sat near the very back of the room, utterly alone, idly toying with a page of her textbook while the professor went on and on about something she'd already studied up on. She could hear the sounds of crickets beyond the school walls, beneath the open windows, and the scent of rain still floated heavily in the air.

There were other scents, the tones of pens and paper, chalk and textbooks, even the perfume and subtle deodorant of her fellow students, everything that such a sensitive nose could pick up, yet there was only one scent that held her attention at such a moment in time.

He was new in that particular course, Serah knew that much, likely one who was attending college in his time off from work, judging by the scent of motor oil she'd caught on his long jacket. She could see the old holes worn within his clothes, and they looked as though they'd been stitched up rather hastily, almost an afterthought. But that was only in the background, for what had caught her attention was not the sandy blond hair, nor the short stubble on his chin, even the open trench coat itself, or the black bandanna on his head, no, it was the scent of a lycan that made her take a second glance.

She'd sensed others, of course, not within the university itself, but out in the city, yet none of them had ever gotten close enough for her to properly see them, and Serah began to realize why, at least for such a peculiar individual. He was simply, in a single word, _massive_ , likely just a bit shy of seven feet tall, and rather rugged in stature. How could such a person not be a lycanthrope? Serah knew it was entirely possible to be that tall and scruffy without such a condition, but the very look of him screamed that he was something different, a oddity in the crowd, and he had chosen to sit as far away from anyone else as she had. He'd likely seen his share of prejudice, Serah realized, or he'd been burned by being too close to humanity before, enough that he chose to be alone there, scribbling away at his papers, absentmindedly taking notes of the lecture.

But his textbook was even stranger than his demeanor, for it was either the incorrect book for the course, or an incredibly outdated copy. Either way, Serah tried not to stare at it, or even at the young man himself, who seemed to have taken no real notice of her presence, or if he had, had chosen not to make it known. Serah knew that it was probably the better option, for acknowledging each other without even an introduction would likely draw suspicion. Even if it wasn't enough to get them in immediate trouble, it was better left unapproached.

Serah exhaled silently, trying to focus herself on the task at hand, but when the professor finally called for a break in the lesson, she took a moment to slip away from the class itself, into one of the supply rooms, just enough time to copy the most relevant pages of her own textbook. Even if it was against college regulations, if a fellow lycan didn't have the right study material, then she wasn't just going to stand by and let it happen. It took only a few minutes for her to get the pages, and she quickly deleted the scanned data from the copier, hurrying back off into the classroom itself, before she glanced around just to make sure that no one was looking.

The professor had gone to take care of an issue in one of the other halls, and Serah crept her way down through the rows of long tables and chairs, before she silently placed the thin stack of papers beside the outdated textbook. She only had time to catch the first look in his eyes, blue eyes, like her own, such bright eyes, a sudden mix of surprise and shock, and Serah began to smile softly, retreating to her own spot in the classroom, and she soon sat back down beside her textbook.

Lightning had told her to make friends, right? And what better way was there to make acquaintances than to help someone out in a pinch?

It was only when she looked back up again, glancing over at the one who carried the scent of a fellow lycan, only then did he suddenly wink at her, smiling so softly from where he was reading over the copied lesson pages.


	4. Chapter 4

Lightning knew well of the weight of exhaustion. She'd known it ever since she first started to drift away from her more childlike pursuits; in those days when she spent following on after her mother and learning whatever she could about fixing things or delivering things, or even creating something from seemingly nothing. She began to learn the true limits of her physical capabilities, even if it meant more than a single night spent quite sleepless and terribly unsettled, taking on the many worries that she had once ignored in days long past.

Their room had been a rather simple one, with low cots for their beds and a sturdy lock at the door, for even a group home had its own share of security concerns. The three of them, Lightning, Serah and their mother, they would often lay awake for many hours at night, usually while their mother read aloud from one of the books that she'd checked out from the nearby library.

It truly began on a certain night, Lightning remembered, when she was wearing nothing but a loose shirt and rather baggy sweatpants, just in case a deep dream brought on yet another involuntary change; it was on that calm, yet restless night that she spoke to her mother in a way that she had never spoken before.

Serah had already drifted off into a steady slumber, all curled up and warm beneath the quilted blankets of her cot. Her ears occasionally twitched at the sounds of the voices around her, of both her sister and her mother, speaking upon the subject of why they were even in such a place to begin with.

Lightning had been sitting upright on the edge of her bed, even though every word she spoke made her just want to lay down and try to get some sleep. "But there was food in the woods, too; we could just go back there... Then we wouldn't have to work so much."

Her mother slowly placed one of the library books back down against her bedside table. "There's safety here, in a crowd." She glanced up at the ceiling, yet it almost looked as if she was staring at something else entirely. "Serah's been doing very well with those classes."

Lightning slumped down against her bed, looking up at the ceiling as well. "What's the point of them? We could just-"

There was the soft name that her mother suddenly spoke, a name lost to time itself, and after a moment of time, she spoke just a bit quieter than before. "An education is very important; you could both find a job someday, like your father and I used to have."

Lightning remembered closing her eyes so tightly, keeping very silent for a while, even when it became clear that Serah had started speaking out loud from her dreams, likely close to the tipping point of a change. The form of a lycan was still rather small in the body of a child, hardly much of a difference in size, but even still, their nightclothes had to be quite loose and easily fixed, just in case those primal dreams grew much too real, wandering their way out into the physical world.

When Lightning opened her eyes again, she could see that Serah was still dreaming away, speaking almost silently, but her face was so much different than before, so very soft and narrow, lupine and wild.

"My silly girls." Their mother had risen up from her bed in only a long nightgown, and she stepped over to sit down on the edge of Serah's cot, gently petting along the back of her head. "Just like puppies, now... But it won't be the same for long."

Lightning remembered how she felt such terrible knots twisting in her stomach at that kind of statement. Would they truly become like their mother, lycans of brute strength and ferocity? Even if there was that absolute bond of love between them, the trust of a bloodline, Lightning knew the great power her mother held, that massive being who once hunted the wilds for their food each and every day, traveling from place to place in search of safety, all up until they finally reached the little township on the edge of a big city itself, a place with a school for both of her children to attend.

"I want the two of you to have good opportunities." Her mother smiled at Serah, so soft and gentle, before she moved back over to her own bed again. "Your father, he had these dreams about where we'd all be in a dozen years... A better house, less troubles to worry about."

Lightning tried not to think of the night when they fled the first city, the very place she'd been born in, roaming off towards the more untamed places of Cocoon, to the lush forests and seemingly endless meadows. Was there really a better life to live within the human world?

"But we should really follow Serah's example and rest." Her mother slowly settled down against her own cot, reaching out to dim the light of the tiny lamp on the bedside table. "You must be sleepy after all of that work today."

Lightning just stared into the darkness with a million thoughts inside her head, questions that swarmed around like fluttering little insects, and she began to narrow her eyes. "I'm not sleepy."

A quiet laugh echoed out, so very low and gentle. "I suppose that's because you're young..."

"Light?"

She was drawn away from her thoughts in a mere instant, and Lightning glanced up from the last crate that she'd set down into place for the day, kneeling within one of the wide, massive warehouses with only Fang left to keep her company.

"Light? You okay?" Fang stepped forward, carefully examining the look on Lightning's face. "I think it's time to go."

Lightning nodded mutely, for she could feel that steady ache in her limbs, the gravity in her own eyelids, the will to just settle down and sleep, even if there were still things left to do before she went home.

"Everyone else headed out at the whistle." Fang began to walk down towards the front of the warehouse, past all of the crates and scattered forklifts that stood so silent again, for there was no one left to attend to them. "I think it was for us, too."

Lightning stood up to venture out as well, but her eyes were so still hazy and distant, lost within the bitter conundrum that had simply wedged itself in from the front doorstep, sinking right into the heart of everything she'd worked so tirelessly to create. It would be so simple just to suddenly agree, to just leave the city with Fang and Vanille, to find their way out into those forests and hills, to be wanderers as they once had been.

"Don't nod off on me, Light." Fang's voice brought her attention back from such thoughts. "If you have to doze on the bus again-"

"No." Lightning blinked at the sudden light of the distant sunset, at the orange and yellow hues upon the gentle ocean waves. "I shouldn't have done that, anyway."

"You were just napping." Fang stepped out along those many harbor stairways, leading the way back up towards the little outpost near the top of the hill. "It hardly ever happens in a nap."

"It's still a risk." Lightning began to listen to the way her shoes sounded so silent against the wooden stairwell, for the treads had been worn quite flat and smooth from so many miles of walking. "I'm tired, Fang... But we still need to get home."

Fang glanced up at the nearby office outpost, before she paused to let Lightning lead the way. "Do you take the bus back?"

"Yes." Lightning soon made her way up the stairs, towards the door that led into the main lobby. "I just need my things."

The lockers stood right beside a clipboard on the wall, one that was intended for signing in and out of work hours, and one of the office assistants had a desk in the back rooms where they would be paid for the day. It was all because of the fact that Lightning had chosen not to even reveal a fake name, nor her place of residence, which was a slightly less than lawful decision, yet it was one made out of mere necessity. She quickly signed herself out for the day on the clipboard, and then she unlocked the combination on her locker for her purse, before she gestured for Fang to sign out her employee number as well.

It was a simple exchange that happened next, just to walk right up to one of the back offices without a word, and then to be handed a plain little envelope along with a bit of documentation, a mere ruse in case any curious eyes were lurking around after work hours. And the feeling of real, physical currency in her hands, it brought a sudden rush of such relief, a sensation that made all of the bitter exhaustion feel so very well worth it in the end. Lightning almost smiled, looking away while Fang received her share as well.

It was a rather long walk away from the outpost, out along the harbor entrance, towards the lone bus stop that stood beside the road with a domed roof up above. Yet when she finally reached it, Lightning simply sat herself down upon the bench, sheltering the little envelope within the safety of her purse.

"Back home, then?" Fang soon sat down as well, and she began to look out over the street beside them, at all of the little shops that hadn't yet closed up for the evening, some of which had festive decorations in the windows and the muffled sounds of music from within. "Serah should be back by now, right?"

Lightning nodded. "She should, but I need to make a quick stop before I head back." A clear silence filled the salty ocean air, but it was only after a moment or two that Lightning spoke again. "I've been thinking about it, today."

Fang quirked a single eyebrow, still gazing out over the many soft city lights, at all of the storefronts and the streetlamps. "About..?"

"You _know_ what." Lightning kept her voice low, yet gentle. "And I won't lie; it's a good idea, at least in theory... But it's just not practical for us right now."

Fang didn't speak for a long moment, but when she did, her tone was far softer than before. "I was pretty surprised back there... A whole apartment and everything."

Lightning glanced out at the open road, still quite speckled with so many raindrops and puddles. "This was our dream... Serah's dream, to follow on from what our mother started." She closed her eyes for just a moment, yet she didn't let those aches in her limbs take her away, nor did she let herself drift off into a gentle sleep. "She wanted us to have a place of our own."

It was several long moments before the sound of tires rumbled against the pavement of the road, and then, after a moment longer, that familiar sound of mechanical hissing, those creaking doors that made Lightning open her eyes again. Fang didn't speak a single word, she merely plucked out a few more coins from her pockets, keeping the little envelope sheltered beneath her arm, before she followed on after Lightning into the bus, towards an aisle that only had two seats per row. They soon sat in silence, still close to each other, and it was only once the bus drove forward once more, once the city streets grew so much more dense and lively, only then did Lightning speak again.

"I want you to be with us." Lightning kept her voice low, and she kept her gaze on the many seats in front of her, avoiding the very sight of Fang's eyes. "I want Vanille to be here, too.. She's just like Serah to me."

"I know." Fang placed one of her hands down between them, and she almost smiled at the way Lightning quickly reached for it again. "And I can promise you this: we'll only leave when you want us to leave."

Lightning began to listen to the sounds of the people all around her, the quiet conversations that nearly had to strain themselves against the loud rumble of the bus, over the engine that steadily carried them further and further into the city, closer and closer to the apartment that Lightning herself called home. Fang closed her eyes for a long while, just to rest, and she slowly rubbed her thumb against Lightning's knuckles for whatever comfort it might have brought.

It was only when they reached a certain stop that Lightning suddenly stood up again, following on after most of the other passengers towards the front of the bus. Fang glanced out at where they had stopped, and while it struck her as rather odd that they were in a much denser part of the city than the little apartment complex, she simply followed on after Lightning, walking down towards the sidewalks that led off between the city's numerous shops and restaurants.

"Gapra, was it?" Fang kept her voice low; she remembered the stories that she'd heard of the particular city, one that almost seemed much too peaceful to be nestled right beside the restless sea. "Birch forests."

Lightning nodded. "Whitewood."

Fang walked on across the sidewalks, sniffing at all of the various scents in the air, from her fellow humans to the various cars they drove to the scent of fresh rain and gentle wind, even the restaurant scents that made her stomach whine and growl, yet there was simply no time to dwell upon the thought of dinner, at least not at that point in time.

Lightning waited to speak until they'd reached a street with a rather empty sidewalk, a longer road that led to the one building she was looking for. "Do you know why this place is so safe, Fang?"

Fang glanced up at the nearby sign of a bank. "Why's that?"

Lightning slowly narrowed her eyes. "Well... I don't know if I agree with it on principle, but in Gapra, brandishing a firearm for anything other than extreme self-defense is illegal." She kept walking on down the pathway, gazing at the road ahead. "No exceptions. Even if it's legal to shoot, they can't do it unless they have an absolute reason to."

Fang almost stopped in her tracks, but she soon had to hurry just to keep up with Lightning. "Seriously? I've never heard of that..."

"A lot of people didn't, not until it got big in the news." Lightning idly kicked a stray pebble across the sidewalk. "But it means we're safe, at least in crowds... Safe as we can possibly be in a city." She watched how the lush leaves of a flowerbed rustled in the evening wind, before she turned her gaze back up towards the nearby shopping plaza. "In a fight without guns... We _win_."

Fang still kept very quiet, walking silently until they reached the very front of the bank, one that stood beside several larger shops and lofty commercial buildings, likely located there for easy access to one's funds while out to purchase things.

"We're not too far from your place, right?" Fang quickly surveyed the area while Lightning entered a pincode into the outdoor terminal of the banking system. "It's getting late."

Lightning soon reached inside for a cylindrical capsule from the bank receptacle, and she swiftly removed all of the bills from the envelope she'd received from work, carefully pushing them down into the plastic container. "It's not a long walk home." She suddenly paused when something was pressed so gently against her elbow, yet when she turned back to look at what it was, she found that she had no other words to speak.

"Go on." Fang spoke very softly, just holding the plain envelope between two of her slender fingertips. "...You don't have to say anything."

Lightning felt her throat tighten up at the very sight of it, double the pay of a whole day's work, and if it had been anyone else but Fang who had offered it to her, she might've just let her temper snap and scold them for joking around. But it _was_ Fang, the woman who was willing to risk crossing the border twice to find her family, to venture all the way back into Cocoon, to work an entire day when she didn't even have to, just to ease away the burden as much as she could.

"Light." Fang stepped in a bit closer, enough to speak in whispers. "When we got back last night, I couldn't sleep for a while, either... But you did, and you kept mumbling something about 'paying off the landlord for the month'."

Lightning tried to keep her breathing steady.

"And then, on the bus-" Fang paused, gently nudging the envelope against one of Lightning's hands. "It wasn't just mumbles anymore."

Lightning began to turn her gaze anywhere but the envelope, even down at the canister with her own money, all ready to be sent off into the bank, to pay for the bills, to heat the apartment in the approaching autumn, and for so many other future things, things that they had gone so very long without.

Fang leaned in to whisper against Lightning's ear. "So, if you want me to go away, I'll leave right now... But if you don't, then I'm going to take care of you." She released her gentle grip on the envelope, leaving it well within Lightning's hands. "I'm gonna take care of _all_ of us, just like it used to be."

Lightning fought back whichever words her mind might conjure up next, might blurt out without careful preparation, so instead, she just silently opened the envelope, doubling the amount of currency to deposit.

"That's it." Fang soon leaned away, and she smiled to herself. "Can't have the place going cold, can we?"

"...Or dark." Lightning spoke in just a whisper, placing the canister back into the receptacle, where it was swiftly taken away by the mechanical workings of the terminal, off to be added to her bank account. "Electric bills."

Fang's limbs almost went stiff at the sudden sensation that grew so steadily stronger, and while she knew that it never would have happened if they weren't mostly alone, that Lightning wasn't usually one for open affection, not then, not _ever_ , the hug that was slowly wrapped around her torso, just a silent sort of touch, one which she slowly began to return, she knew it had been given in true relief.

"There's that hug..." Fang curled one of her arms around Lightning's back, just holding her there, well-hidden within the darkness of the evening. "Been holding out on me, haven't you?"

Lightning suddenly punched at the side of Fang's shoulder, though it was a gesture without much actual force. "Any sooner and I might've given you a heart attack."

"Oh, I don't know about that..." Fang felt a warm smile curling on her lips, and she looked out over the empty parking lot, up towards the horizon, gazing at the city that waited for the darkness to spread out across the sky, for those lights to fully shine against all of that misty darkness. "It's been a long time, I could use all the hugs I can get."

Lightning leaned away, still lingering in the warmth of Fang's presence, within the comfort of her strength. "If you stick around, you might just get even more of them."

Fang stared into Lightning's eyes, into the strong glimmer that still remained despite the sheer exhaustion, the spirit that spoke of such incredible feats, of a safe place within the turbulent world, a home in the very heart of Cocoon, in the city of lights and such pale trees, of a summer that gave way to such calm, soothing winds, of cool air and gently falling leaves. Perhaps they might truly be safe, Fang thought, or perhaps it would all come crashing down before too long, perhaps those very roots would suddenly be ripped away, sent out to roam the earth again, but until then...

Lightning reached up to adjust the strap of her purse, before she slowly reached for Fang's hand, leading her back out across the sidewalk.

Until that day, until such dangers loomed within the shadows again, Fang would follow her family into the city of lights and chances, of unlikely possibilities and that sheer unpredictable luck, and she silently promised herself that she would work just as hard as Lightning did to make it all happen in their favor. If Lightning was intent on toiling herself away, then Fang resolved to be there to help her get back up again, to hoist her to her feet and ease the burden away. If there was no convincing her to leave the city, then there was simply nothing else for it. A family, no matter how far each member might stray, they always returned to each other before long, no matter what fears or conditions might await them.

Fang could feel the gentle squeeze of Lightning's hand, hidden between them as they walked, yet within that long, silent moment, it almost felt like all that ever mattered in the world.

* * *

The apartment lamps on the balcony began to glow beneath the darkness of the evening, and the tiny little moths and summer insects soon woke to flutter out in the light. They occasionally they landed upon the glass of the narrow windows, one of which reflected the face of a rather anxious individual.

Serah knew it was quite useless to stand there and watch from the front windowsill, for the minute that she grew too worried and decided to call Lightning on her cell phone, it always inevitably ended up in her momentary arrival, and then a few words of gentle reprimand, of how Serah shouldn't let herself get so stressed for no real reason at all.

She could feel the claws straining against her palms, yet she kept the rest of herself contained, fighting off the change that threatened to take over her entire body. There were a great number of things that could incite a lycanthrope into involuntary transformations; stress was the largest concern, followed by both anger and fear, even excitement in rarer cases, and then certain states of dreaming, and last of all, a source of pain, both physical and mental.

There had been a time when she was younger, when pain brought on one of her first involuntary changes. She'd been outside with her mother, wandering around in one of the group home's gardens, planting flowers beneath the weekend sun, but that was the moment when she accidentally stubbed one of her toes against a stray rock, a rather sharp bit of stone that had been sticking out from the dirt. Serah barely even realized what was happening at the time, at least not at such a young age, but her mother's watchful demeanor saw her swiftly gathered up and carried off to their room, long before the change could fully take hold. Yet by then, Serah was sitting there with teary eyes and clawed feet, with soft pointy ears that sank flat against her head. Nobody had seen it, as her mother often wore an apron during household chores, and she'd simply covered Serah up in the cloth and carried her right away. Yet when the time for schooling grew nearer and nearer, the question of how to handle such an uncontrollable condition became even more troublesome.

Serah remembered it clearly, the meticulously planned route that she and her sister would take if anything ever went awry, the safe places around the little school that they were told to run away and hide in, and then seek out their mother once the coast was clear. It was something that a child could definitely take to heart, but the question was, just how truly fair was it for them to have to suffer with such troubles?

She remembered the stress of making new friends, how it always made her fingernails feel so much sharper whenever they roughhoused with each other, and how her teeth almost began to hurt in her mouth whenever lunchtime came around. Growing pains, her mother said, and that they would all be better once she grew older, and that a greater sense of control would form as well.

So in that rainy summer day, when she was indeed much older, Serah waited, lingering there beside the windowsill, claws out, yet hidden against her palms. She focused as best as she could on keeping herself human, to keep her grip tight upon that fleeting sense of control. Perhaps it was just because it felt so natural, so very freeing to change forms even when it hurt so much, even when her bones ached inside her limbs, suffering from the urge to make them grow, to make herself be stronger, powerful enough to go out and find her missing family members, perhaps that was why it happened so swiftly.

Her pointed ears swiveled out, and Serah slowly moved herself away from the window, just in case any curious eyes might be peering around.

"Serah?" Vanille's voice called out from the living room. "You okay?"

Perhaps Vanille had caught the sudden change in scent, how her skin had turned into soft fur, how her whole body was swiftly changing, caught up in the many emotions of the day. Lightning was hardly ever late, and on the rare occasion that she was, it either meant that she had missed the bus or was out taking care of an errand, it was either that, or she was patrolling the nearby area in search of a possible threat.

"Serah?" Soft footsteps echoed against the carpet of the hallway. "Oh."

Serah's clothes weren't quite yet strained to the point of ripping apart, she'd kept that much under control, but her face was still obviously lupine, and her hands were already to the point of padded fingertips and blunt claws.

"Hey, it's okay..." Vanille stepped forward to touch and hold Serah's wrist, gently leading her away from the curtained window. "What's the matter?"

Serah spoke very quietly, following after Vanille. "Lightning's late..."

Vanille quickly made her way over towards the living room. "Fang's definitely still with her, you know."

"I know..." Serah's voice cracked, but she obeyed the way Vanille gestured for her to sit down against the sofa. "But I just get so... Worked up and _worried;_ what if they ran into trouble?"

Vanille frowned, sitting down as well. "She'd call you, right?"

Serah nodded against the fabric of the couch, for she was trying to hide her face in the cushions.

"Hey, it's okay..." Vanille reached out to gently tug at one of Serah's pointed ears. "We're all in the same boat, aren't we? You don't have to keep it hidden here."

Serah closed her eyes, and her lycan nose twitched ever so slightly. Unlike Lightning's, it wasn't black in hue, but a very dark shade of pink; with the way it moved in on itself and flexed about to detect scents, the softer color made it all the more apparent.

"They'll be back soon." Vanille patted Serah's shoulder. "Look at that, there's the fireworks."

Serah turned her gaze towards the little television screen, where even in the thick, cloudy air, luminous sparks of light were crackling out into the evening sky. "...Maybe we can go see them in person next year."

Vanille paused, mulling over the very reason that she and Fang had returned to Cocoon in the first place, but yet again, she just couldn't bring herself to say anything that might bother Serah. "Maybe."

"Hey, that doesn't sound like you." Serah would have smiled if her jaw wasn't sloped into a lupine snout, with a mouth that just couldn't express the same level of amusement that a human could. "You used to love seeing them."

Vanille stared at the little television screen, at all of the people gathered there beside the firework grounds, watching the bright, joyful display. Her heart almost felt weighted for a brief moment, dragged down by the knowledge of the many dangers of such a city, but the sight of Serah's hands, which were gradually starting to look more and more human, that brought a small smile to her face.

A wolf might disregard the passage of time, but humanity found much comfort in the concept of a special day, events for celebrating the seasons themselves, even the last day of summer in the year, one that gave way to the gusting winds of autumn. Winter would wait patiently, and the leaves would soon begin to change their colors from a lush green to deep red, to bright yellow and orange, the very same hue as a certain lycanthrope.

Vanille knew that she was blessed by the fact that she could stifle her stress so easily, an almost unparalleled control over herself, yet she knew deep down that it was merely her natural skill at deception. Any shapeshifter could hide much more than their physical form, and a warm smile in place of fearful eyes could do much more than any attempt to calm herself down, a lie so powerful that it made her own body believe it without question. So while she was indeed trying not to shiver at the thought that Fang and Lightning could've gotten themselves into trouble on the way home, her fingertips stayed soft and her teeth remained dull, reined in by the lie that her own mind could be so blissfully unaware.

The wolf who wore a coat of orange, so bright, lively and cheerful, it often slumbered within a perpetual state of rest, at least until Vanille needed her claws to be out again, needed those fangs that could rend and tear just as well as either of her older friends could, a lurking beast, so very silent and still. And like the trees, she might bring out her coat when the time felt right, when she too heeded the call to simply run off and dance within those wilds, when Fang herself had brought them both across the wide mountain ranges of Gran Pulse, down into the lush valleys and hills that they soon began to call their own.

Yet there had been blood on her teeth when they'd finally caught Lightning's scent, when they finally found their family again, yet it had been the blood of a fellow lycan, one Vanille herself had sent to the realm beyond life. She tried not to glance down at where the cut was still lingering on her arm, the only remnant of those last desperate throes of a frenzied attacker, the savagery of one who'd tracked them down. It was the one who'd had the gall to try and ambush Fang's human form from those treetops far above, an action that drove her fellow lycanthrope to run so very high.

She remembered the sudden shift of her bones and muscles, of an utter, debilitating pain, and then the sheer exhilaration of the beast lurching away from where her human body once was, the way her teeth sharpened out within mere seconds and buried themselves so deep into the throat of their attacker. The wolf didn't even stop to think, didn't realize that her prey was a lycanthrope as well, it only knew that her own friend had been hurt by it, sliced at the back of her neck by a stray claw, and then later on, her cheek received the same treatment, when she rushed in to help cut off the line of attack.

Vanille watched the fireworks bloom across the television screen, remembering the way that the light seeped out from that strange lycan's eyes, so very still and cloudy and _dead_ , how her own clawed hands had choked away the air from that broad, muscular neck, removing the threat of any further attacks. Had it been cruel to kill a fellow beast? To leave them bleeding there, all while the sounds of human shouting grew nearer and nearer, as if they knew exactly where to go?

Vanille felt the first hint of a frown forming on her face, but she carefully pushed it away.

The news kept showing all of those fireworks, yet it was such an elderly little television, old metal and wooden stands, with a screen as fuzzy as the mist from the rain. And the shape itself, that rectangular form, it almost reminded her of the odd little object she had tried to crush with her claws and hands, yet she'd found it was much too durable. The slain lycan had been wearing a radio collar. She knew it by the written words on the side, by how she'd paused to examine it even when a gunshot rang out, whistling just a bit too close for comfort, before Fang simply dragged her away, rushing on towards the relative safety of the nearby city. When they'd reached the edge of the harbor with the rain clouds looming up above, just out of sight of any human eyes, there had been so much blood upon their hands, in their mouths, between their teeth, all up until the cold, salty waves of the sea helped to wash it all away. Yet there was a silent moment that came right after, a long, lingering while, before Fang suddenly stood upright within the waves, sniffing so silently at the ocean air.

There had been a certain scent on the wind.

Drawing herself away from her thoughts, Vanille looked down at where Serah was resting against the sofa, almost entirely human again, as if she might have finally been relaxing to all of the familiar sounds of the television. Perhaps it was the normalcy of the soft little noises, or even the distant rumble of the roads beside the parking lot, yet it was just enough to make the wolf sleep again, to fade away, unneeded in such a peaceful time and place.

* * *

Lightning made her way down the sidewalk, the one that would eventually lead her towards the apartments, long past the shopping plaza with the bank, down the pathway that led right beside a very small park with a public garden, and on towards the little corners stores and the empty buildings up for rent. It wasn't quite the shadiest part of town, not by a long shot, but the scent of tobacco and open gasoline were always rather present whenever she ventured through it, not to mention the pungent and distinctive scent of a certain medicinal plant.

Fang sniffed at the air as well. "Wow."

"Yeah." Lightning kept to the lights of the streetlamps, moving on towards one of the nearby crosswalks. "But it does have a silver lining."

Fang soon paused at the edge of the street. "And what's that?"

"Cheap food." Lightning's gaze drifted down to the purse at her side, where a wallet held her funds for day to day usage. "Good food, at that... What do you say we make it a better holiday for the kids?"

Fang smiled when the flashing crosswalk light motioned them forward. "I thought they weren't kids anymore."

"They always will be." Lightning crossed the street, walking within the headlights of a stopped car, so bright that it almost felt blinding. "Serah's turning twenty next year... But she still feels just like the little kid she used to be."

"I know the feeling." Fang gently rubbed at the bandage on her cheek. "Vanille's done a lot of growing up, too... Helped me out of a pretty bad situation before we got here."

Lightning walked on towards the next sidewalk. "What sort of 'situation'?"

Fang drew in a very deep breath. "Like I told you, we shook them off before we got here, okay? So don't get freaked out."

Lightning nodded. "I won't." She glanced back and forth to make sure they were alone enough. "What happened?"

"Well, it seemed like just more of the usual, at first." Fang kicked at a stray bit of paper upon the sidewalk. "You know... 'Foxhunting' on 'horseback'."

Lightning took a moment to remember the code that Fang was speaking in, and she whispered her reply. "Cars?"

Fang slowly shook her head. "We 'saw' them coming from far off... Gasoline, but no cars."

Lightning remembered a certain band of lycan hunters who had once caught up to them on motorbikes, which had the fortunate habit of tipping over quite easily with a swift kick to the side. She almost smiled to herself at the thought of it, for needless to say, they weren't bothered by that group of individuals for very long. "Bikes, then?"

Fang nodded. "Yeah, the only problem was... And this is what caught us off guard; they ditched the 'horses' for a hound."

Lightning felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickle up. "A _'hound'?_ "

Fang fought back a bitter smile. "I guess they don't hate it enough not to use it."

Lightning stopped in her tracks, gazing out at seemingly nothing, but Fang could tell that her mind was working away on overdrive.

"Hey." Fang stepped in to hold Lightning's hand again. "You told me you wouldn't freak out."

Lightning slowly grit her teeth together, so much sharper and utterly pointed than a moment before, yet they were hidden beneath the frigid, pained look upon her face. "Who in their right mind..?"

"We can talk about it somewhere else." Fang kept her voice very low. "But listen, I bet this'll make you feel better..." She leaned in to whisper so softly, simultaneously leading Lightning to walk forward. "The 'fox' had a friend, you see... And two foxes can take down a dog, maybe even the punks who own it."

Lightning stared blankly at the sidewalk. "It's dead?"

Fang nodded, squeezing Lightning's hand.

"And they can't-" Lightning tried to keep her own voice down to a whisper, still letting Fang guide the way forward. "Can't attack us without it, not without too much trouble."

"Exactly." Fang swiftly brushed aside the fact that there could still have been others who'd betrayed the unspoken pact of lycanthropes, to aid their own kind in whatever ways they could. "It's... Relatively safe, like you said."

Lightning tried not to let her teeth flash out with each muttered word, barely keeping herself under control. "I don't _like_ 'relatively'."

"I know, Light." Fang kept leading the way along the sidewalk, moving with Lightning in between herself and the nearby buildings, just to keep any possible mishaps out of sight, yet it still seemed as if only her teeth had changed. "Just relax... Breathe with me, okay?"

Lightning closed her eyes ever so slightly, focusing upon the way Fang punctuated each breath of air with wordless sounds, whispering softly beside her ear. It was hard to keep her lungs from seizing, from letting her fingernails sharpen out into claws, but she had performed the very same relaxation technique so many numerous times, and in that time of evening, beneath such cloudy weather, the streets were very much unoccupied.

"There you go." Fang inhaled another deep, yet quiet breath. "I've got your back, you hear me?"

And she knew it from the way Fang shielded her from sight, a strong physical barrier between Lightning herself and the street beyond the sidewalk, from the risk that they were both taking whenever she spoke, even if it was such a small part of her body to be seen. Her teeth were still sharper, the long canines of a wolf, yet they weren't very visible from such a distance, not even from the cars that drove so slowly down the residential streets.

It took time, it always took time, but Lightning soon began to feel that sense of urgency fade away, disappearing with the knowledge that they were all as safe as they could ever be, that she had a friend at her side, a friend who'd taken far more than bullets for her in the past than she could ever count, bound by their fellow conditions.

The streets were almost silent, yet beneath the sudden crack of distant fireworks, likely launched from somewhere beyond the city itself, Lightning turned her gaze up towards the sky, to the lights that glowed so brightly for just a mere moment of time, and then grew so very dim.

Fang kept holding Lightning's hand, gazing at the fireworks as well.

"A holiday." Lightning looked back down at Fang. "Let's make it something special."

* * *

The birch trees stood proudly among the taller pines, a stark white against the rich, deep evergreens, while a single blur of silver wandered out along the forest floor.

His keen ears caught almost all of the sounds in the woods, the strong winds, the evening birdsong, a chorus that grew so very silent as the darkness of night grew closer and closer, before the sun finally sank down against the horizon, disappearing to bring forth the night. And with the darkness came the sounds of distant lurking, of low, rumbling vehicles that just couldn't mask their presence in the silence, no matter how quiet they might be, and the very sound itself sent what felt like ice water into Hope's veins.

They were still hunting him. His eyes slowly began to widen. The river hadn't truly hidden his trail, at least not for long, and he was just standing there, barely even healed from all the injures he'd received, with no idea how far he had left to travel, nor how many days it would take to leave the wilderness behind. So he was off in a flash of silver and white, of small paws treading swiftly against the damp earth, still so soft from the previous rain. He ran in utter silence, of a swiftly rapidly heart, of the will to live and escape the tightening noose.

How had they tracked him so quickly? Pawprint trails were almost always inevitable, as were broken twigs or paths of parted grass and shrubs within the undergrowth, but to have caught up with him so quickly, there was only one explanation he could think of. The other lycan, the beast who'd ripped his mother's leg, who had sentenced her to death by poison and gunfire...

The wolf within might have roared for revenge, to turn back and slay the one who had harmed his family, but Hope himself still had half of a mind to evade that other lycan for the rest of his life. For what use could more death truly bring? Both sides of his thoughts quarreled as he ran, racing for his life within the trees, but when he thought back towards his future destination, a city that his mother said would be safe, he wondered how truly 'safe' it could even be with a traitorous lycan on his trail. He'd surely be scented again, hunted down in the streets like an animal, killed when he least expected it. And that grim conclusion, it was something that both sides could agree on; for his own safety, his own life, such a pursuer had to be removed. But how to do the deed? How to separate it from those apparent human friends, to get it away from all of the gunfire and into a position to truly fight?

Hope's ears sank low against his head. His lycan form was taller and larger than any human, but against another of his kind, it would surely become a losing battle. He had always been smaller than his peers, thin and somewhat lanky, even since he had grown quite a bit, halfway between childhood and adolescence. Hope would turn sixteen in the following year, provided that he wasn't slain out in the woods like a fearful elk, like a fox on the run from such mighty forces, from teeth and bright gunfire and the frigid sting of wolfsbane.

Perhaps it was sheer luck that he stumbled across a lone cabin beneath the pine trees, even if it was locked up for the summer, yet the windows were only made of glass, so it took little effort just to jump aloft and smash himself against it, no matter how much it stung. He swiftly landed in a jagged pile of broken glass and so many brittle fractured window panes, and Hope yelped in pain at the many little cuts on his pelt, an incredibly high-pitched cry, but there was little time to stop and tend to his wounds.

Blood trickled down within his silver fur, red and dark white, a lone beast in search of anything that might help him, anything at all, yet there were no weapons to be seen, nothing within those many cabinets and containers, not until he finally caught sight of a single, solitary object.

A long length of rope sat silently upon a bench near the wall, likely used for climbing or hitching things together, exactly the sort of thing that could turn the rushing tide in his own favor.

In those early days, when his father had been present, Hope was taught the knowledge of how to navigate the land and hunt within his more feral form, but his parents also pushed the fact that he should also be able to live without his bestial side. Such concepts led to being taught how to fish and how to properly shoot a small firearm, how to cut prey apart with the edge of a hunting knife, and even how to set and bait traps in the wilderness.

He grabbed the roll of rope with his teeth, carrying it around with him as he forced himself to change back into a larger from, his true lycan body, before he hurried about the little cabin in search of any other tools that he could find, but there was little left behind for such would-be burglars. He held no guilt in his mind, however, for it was a matter of life or death, after all, far more valuable than a broken window or a bit of rope.

The jump out from the window landed far easier than before, and he took off into the forest again, still hearing that distant rumble of the engines in his ears, vehicles that could traverse the low terrain with great speed and agility, almost as fast as a lycan who had nearly everything to lose. He ran faster than he'd ever raced before, gripping the rope between his teeth, and each leaping pace brought him further and further into the darker density of the forest, between the tall pines and swaying birches, the thinner trees that he'd need for such a certain technique.

Hope finally paused when he couldn't hear the vehicles anymore, though he knew they were definitely still hot on his trail. It was a tiny thicket that he'd happened upon, one with those pale white birches, punctuated by dense undergrowth and the narrow, fluffier fir trees. There were many stray sticks upon the ground, the only things he needed, and with the strength of a lycan, it took little time to snap a few of the larger branches apart, ones with notches between each smaller branch that made a wedgelike gap, hooks that could hold a much straighter stick in place.

It became triangular in shape, wide enough for Hope himself to stand within, two of those hooked branches beside that long one beneath, and then a smaller bit that would become the third stake in the ground. The soil was soft from the previous rain, enough that he could simply hammer the branches down into the earth itself with a flat bit of rock, setting them steadily into place.

Next came the rope, provided that he wasn't about to be lunged upon by his pursuers, or course, but an attack didn't yet come, at least not at that moment. He wove one end of the rope into a bowline knot, a loop that wouldn't slip with any tension, but it was perfect to help create an actual slip knot, which was made by pulling the base end of the rope though the loop itself. Each side of the rope was soon tied, and Hope reached for a rather tiny bit of fallen wood, smaller than the other branches, which was to be the trigger stick, tied up near the slip knot, beside the base of the contraption.

His ears perked at the approaching sounds, yet Hope tried as best as he possibly could not to tremble or freeze up, for it was already so _loud_ , so thunderous, so much that he wanted to simply race to his feet and dash away again, yet he knew that the task at hand still needed to be finished.

He jumped up at the nearest of the birch trees, a thin trunk that was still rather flexible in its youth, though it did rise very high into the air, far enough that he had to grip at the papery bark with his hind claws, scrabbling his way up to tie down the other end of the rope against the tallest height of the tree.

Hope soon leapt back down, and he reached up to grab the rope and trigger stick, enough to pull it down with all of his might, positioning each part beneath the main stick that was held firmly in place by the two hooked branches, which made the tree trunk creak and groan with sheer physical tension. And the last stick, which was, at least in theory, the 'bait stick', he wedged it down between the third stake and the trigger stick, in order to keep the rope steady against the hooked anchor mechanism.

And the very last step, all while the blood still roared in his ears, Hope set the slip knot down over the bait stick, an action that would have caught him much prey in the past, a rabbit, perhaps, or a squirrel, maybe even a deer with the right size of trap, yet at that moment, when he caught the distant sound of footfalls...

Hope knew it wasn't prey he was hunting for, and that no bait of leafy herbs or crushed pine nuts would see him with results. No, if he needed _bait_...

It was the thrill of trembling in such fear, the rush of adrenaline when he leapt back out over the very trap he'd made, running headlong into the fray itself, into the forest that he knew held the deadliest prey, a human with all the natural abilities of an apex predator, of a wolf, it was the frantic beating of his own heart that kept him mobile, running out to meet with the face of death itself.

And what a face it was, shadowed within the cloak of nightfall, of pointed ears and dark gray fur, of slavering teeth and broad muscles strained by the need to keep itself under control, to hunt down the quarry and lead that band of hunters towards their kill, to chase a fellow lycan down to the cold, bitter end.

Yet Hope was just as swift as any adult lycanthrope, perhaps even swifter, and in the dark of the night, even with such keen eyesight, he knew that his pursuer would likely be so focused upon the prey that his own little 'surprise' would go unnoticed.

As he doubled back around to run off as fast as he could, with the snapping of sharp teeth at his heels, the sounds of crashing leaves and branches all around him, Hope silently began to thank each and every time that his mother had taken him to the woods as a child, to teach him the art of such subtle, natural deception. He lunged himself out into the forest depths, racing with the strange lycan on his tail, the furious beast with such massive teeth and limbs, nearly twice his size, and Hope thought that perhaps such an act would be his mother's legacy.

A hunter of the wilds, a woman who once fell in love with a human man, enough to bring a son into the world, she had taught him of his own heritage as an intelligent beast, a wolf of cunning tricks, of such great swiftness and guile. Yes, Hope thought, she'd likely be proud of what he had made in those woods, and of just how fast he was running to keep himself one step away from his target.

Though he did yelp so sharply when the end of his tail was suddenly bitten, snapped between those massive, mighty jaws, enough to injure the bones beneath his fur and made his skin bleed, but a swift kick to the throat made the other lycan release its frightful hold, thought it still kept hounding him without pause.

A trail of blood was left in his wake, and Hope felt those sweltering tears well up in his eyes again, the fear of what was quite likely a fractured tailbone, but the adrenaline kept most of the pain at bay. He had a path yet to run on, a trap yet to spring, and one simple bite, it just wasn't enough to extinguish his spirit.

And there it was, off in the distance, though it felt as if it had only been moments before that he planted it down in the earth, and as he suddenly burst forward, leaping up and above the slip knot just as subtly as he possibly could, it came as a lurch to his own lungs when a sudden, deafening roar echoed out into heights of the boundless forest.

The coiling crack of the flexible tree trunk whistled out through the air like a massive whip, sending the one that it had caught up in rope careening on along with it, before the sheer weight plunged back down within the following swing. It was a noose trap, a tree spring, one that held the ankle of a lycanthrope so tightly inside its clutches.

Hope barely even realized that he himself had stopped running to peer back at the snare, at the hulking beast that writhed so helplessly in the grip of the knotted rope, unable to even reach up far enough to rip itself free, fated to dangle back and forth with each feeble struggle it made, witless and utterly lost.

And Hope just stood there, so small and swift, baring his teeth with a low, rumbling snarl, the sort of sound reserved only for enemies and threats alone. It was not prey, he knew, but revenge, the end of a threat that knew far too much of his own scent. It was retaliation for the life lost to those who'd followed the signal of the radio collar, and that was the first to go, for Hope lunged out without a word, teeth and claws sinking down into such helpless flesh beside the metal collar, even when the lycan bellowed and thrashed, snapping out as well, clawing and scratching and baying with each deep, savage bite that it took to the throat, yet it took only milliseconds before the blood flew thick and free.

It was no simple dispute, no baseless threat with snaps and growls, or maybe even a bite or two to establish one's strength, no, it was an incalculable amount of bloodletting, a war, a savage and grappling fight into the bitter end, perhaps even beyond that; it was a warning that no further acts of aggression would ever be tolerated, to be punished by the end of one's life.

Hope's eyes burned with those countless specks of blood, and his teeth began to sink even deeper, gagging upon the flow of acrid liquid that gushed down from the open jugular of his victim. The radio collar was lost within it, drenched and nearly bitten up to pieces, snapped between teeth that could sever the joints of bones as well as flesh, yet it was only when Hope lunged away and then back in again to tear right at the spine of his opponent, only then did the dangling lycan fall completely, utterly still.

He could feel it seeping between his teeth, slick with blood and such dark, ragged bits of fur, of reddened flesh, and Hope slowly began to release his grip once more, moving away from the one who now lay lifeless. The wolf felt only pride, practically high upon the sensation of proving itself, of besting an enemy with sheer wits and inner strength, yet the human shrank back at the sight of such a horrid death, asphyxiated and blooded by the savage bite of a lycan, all for the safety of himself.

It was for his mother, the wolf reminded him, his mother was dead because of _that_ one, it had brought her to her death without remorse, so why should he feel anything but accomplishment? Yet the human spoke silently, limping away to leave the area before any of the humans caught up. He spoke within his own mind, he spoke of the boundary that separated the race of men from beasts, of that crushing guilt, of such strong empathy, of the sorrow and the tears that trickled down across his blooded snout, of the mournful weight that settled itself into each and every one of his steps, even when he forced himself to run again.

A life was gone. It was irretrievable, simple as that. It had been taken away by his own teeth and claws, and even if it meant that he couldn't be tracked so mercilessly upon his travels, Hope knew he would never forget the act of savagery that he himself had committed.


	5. Chapter 5

The lights of the fireworks brought the cloudy sky to life, echoing out into the dark mist of the city skyline. Gapra had its fair share of skyscrapers and massive office buildings, shopping centers and plazas, but it was also home to the pale white trees of its original namesake. The 'Gapra Whitewood' itself was a nature reserve at the very heart of the city, yet those unusual birch trees grew far beyond the bounds of the parks and research facilities, and in most cases they were considered to be city emblems, or even the spiritual symbol of the entire independent state.

And it became even clearer in the light of the fireworks, those rounded, silvery leaves that rustled so gently in the wind, it was quite clear why the trees were taken so seriously, even by the general public. No other foliage almost seemed to glow within the nighttime, such wispy blues and greens, white and silver bark that almost looked metallic beneath the darkness. It was enough to make Lightning pause just to look at them, all while she carried a rather flat box in her hands.

Fang looked as well, peering at all of the lights above, and her nose twitched slightly at the sudden breeze, for there was already a rather brisk chill in the wind. "They'll be turning their colors soon, won't they?"

Lightning nodded, for she herself had often seen the shift from green to that bright golden hue within a time of great change in the world, when those chilly temperatures brought on the promise of distant snowfall.

"It's gotta be pretty tough to work in the cold." Fang glanced down at her own coat, a thin jacket that she had taken out from the shoulder bag she always carried, a satchel that held both her own spare clothes and Vanille's. "Fall will be here before you know it... Have you worked in it before?"

"Of course I have." Lightning turned to face the city streets again, and she began to walk forward once more, carrying the food that they'd bought together. "Fang, just how long do you think it took to save up for this place? How long I waited to make sure we'd have enough for living expenses?"

And Fang could hear the slight twinge of frustration in Lightning's tone, yet her demeanor didn't seem hostile, or even closed up. It was more as if she was trying to express the hardship of those many years, of the nights spent sleeping within the streets or beneath the forest trees, hiding in the shelter of her more bestial form, enough to make her pass as a stray animal. Yet that was exactly what they had been before, Fang thought, cursed humans who lived like stray wolves, roaming and running from place to place with only their own friends for company. She remembered the day when she had first noticed a foreign presence in the woods, the sprawling forest that she had been traveling across with Vanille. It had been a bright autumn day, one that suffered a cold, bitter morning, yet it soon gave way to a midday that still felt just as hot as the summer. It was in that time when she had caught sight of a pale figure off in the distance, one who was standing upon the opposite side of a wide riverbed.

Fang could blend in very well with the shadows of the forest, for she possessed a dark brown pelt that looked black in certain levels of light, and those deep red highlights on each hair could be mistaken for fallen leaves or streaks of residual sunlight. She had been resting within the shallows of the river itself, a lycanthrope hidden in the body of a wolf, gazing out at what she suspected was a counterpart to her current state. She knew it for a fact because wolves behaved differently, they didn't test the water temperature with their paws before drinking it, nor did they make sure it tasted nice before lapping away at it, and they certainly didn't sit back on their haunches to speak out loud with their traveling companions.

Serah had been so much younger at the time, roughly nine years old when they met each other. Fang had first seen her in the guise of a wolf, much smaller than Lightning's tall stature, with a peachy pink nose and a rather similar shaded scruff of fur on her back, a creamy sort of color that Fang would later learn that she inherited from her father. Apparently, their mother had looked just like Lightning, untouched by any other hue but sheer white, just as pale as a blanket of freshly settled frost. But such knowledge was waiting many years away from that first encounter, and it would only be earned by a sense of budding trust and the later strength of their companionship. Yet at the time, Fang knew nothing other than what she could tell from their scents or the muffled sounds of their words, spoken in that low, lupine tone that only a lycan could achieve.

And it sounded as if the older one, Lightning, she seemed to be quietly fretting over the very place they were in, for no matter how peaceful the forest might have seemed at first glance, she knew just how many threats could be lurking out there in the deep, dark woods. The trees stood tall, mighty oaks and the occasional pine tree, which meant that the light of the sun could barely peek in from most places. Yet that was the advantage of the river, for even as Fang kept very still within the lush beds of watercress and tall reeds, she knew that if her scent hadn't been downwind, that the pair of fellow lycans would have easily detected her presence.

But what were they looking for, Fang wondered, because if the older one was so very intent on finding safety, then what better place might there be than a forest? There was shelter between the trunks of the trees, or down beneath the roots if one was patient enough to dig, or they could even take to the safety of the undergrowth, within the dense thickets and shrubs that grew prickly enough to fend off lesser beasts.

Yet as Fang listened on, idly resting beside the deeper flow of the river, slowly cooling herself off from the heat of the midday sun, she listened to those hushed worries, and then the calm sounds of a patient younger sister. It was so much like her own Vanille, the little orphan who she herself had brought away from the sudden violence of a panicked village. Fang's ears perked, and she turned her head to watch how the sisters walked even further along the river shore. If their worries were that simple, in need of better food than whatever they could forage or shelter that stood far stronger than just laying there in the grass, then Fang knew just how fortunate it was that she herself was so proficient in hunting.

Fang had been born to parents who lived alone in the wilds, all by themselves, a wandering pair of lycans who never quite expected to have a child, yet they adored her, nonetheless. Perhaps it was their transient nature or the carefree way they moved from place to place, perhaps that was what caused Fang to roam away from them in her later years, though not out of hostility, or even dislike, merely an inherited urge to find her own way in the world.

And that was exactly how she found Vanille. It had been in a village that turned upon those who'd been discovered as carriers of lycanthropy, a small town that soon killed or chased off every afflicted individual, even those who hadn't chosen to savage their fellow humans.

Vanille scarcely even knew why her parents had suddenly been separated from her, nor why she had been torn away from her home and everything else she ever knew, all for the one who had gone wild and bitten someone in her own village. She had been so young at the time, just a victim of youthful ignorance, and it soon saw her placed within solitary quarantine, for not even the staunchest defender of the community could bear to slay a child, at least not until it was confirmed that she was indeed a lycan.

And as Fang approached and entered that tiny settlement, she had been old and wise enough not to reveal any hint of her true nature, enough that she could walk among the pathways of the town in secrecy, at least until she noticed little Vanille, who was all alone and shivering there within the confines of a thatched roof hut. Fang could peer in though the gaps of the walls, and she could catch the scent of a fellow lycan, one who looked more than frightened enough to change forms right then and there, yet for some reason, she simply stayed within her human shape, without even a stray tooth or claw to say any differently.

And if there had been any doubt in Fang's mind about rescuing her, it was erased by the fact that Vanille could control herself so very well, and that she could follow after her without a sound, even when the rest of the village began to notice the missing prisoner, one who had likely been released from the wide gap torn in the side of the hut. All they would ever find were the long scratches on the brittle fragments of wood, or perhaps the massive set of paw marks that traveled right beside the tiny bare footprints of a human child, leading far away from the village itself.

It was for those very reasons that Fang stood up when she was all alone, shaking herself out from the cold water of the river, deciding to leave Vanille to her own devices for just a little while longer, at least enough to potentially make them a new ally in the world. There were always those who were somewhat hostile towards other lycanthropes, Fang knew, but from listening in on the way that the sisters talked to each other, they didn't seem the type to attack blindly, or even to bite humans, the stigma of which was enough to drive most away from society in the first place.

In the light of that summer day, Fang had wandered away from the river, moving out beneath the towering trees that formed a canopy of thick leaves and branches, and she soon caught wind of a faint scent from the distant grasslands, one that promised the possibility of a rather worthy hunt.

It had been in the evening that Lightning found a small gap near the roots of a tree, a small ditch where she could rest near Serah's side, a place sheltered beneath the shadows of tall grass, and it was there that they paused for some time. Lightning had always even a light sleeper, hardly ever subject to the deeper stages of slumber, and because of that, she hardly ever dreamed, which made changing shape unconsciously an almost negligible dilemma. Yet when she slept within the form of a wolf, the deep dreams came alive and wild, enough to make her limbs move as if she was running or chasing after something, enough to mumble little sounds and murmurs into the dark.

On the other hand, Serah was almost always a sound sleeper, and though she often found herself waking up in a lycanthropic form after she had gone to sleep as a human, there wasn't much that could bother her while she was in that steady state of slumber, even the sounds of Lightning's restless dreams.

It lasted until the night ended, and that was when Lightning woke in a whirl of color and sound, of birdsong and the shadowy lights of morning, it was then that she suddenly caught scent of something that would have very well influenced her sleeping mind.

There, laying beside the edge of the ditch, was a blooded pheasant, freshly killed and brought in from the grasslands, left there with only so much as a single bite to the throat.

Back in that present day, away from the memory, Fang smiled to herself at the thought of how Lightning soon caught her trail of scent and approached her later on, so cautious, yet she seemed very thankful for the gift she had given to both sisters. It took weeks to build those first few lines of trust, and Fang's time was often spent looking after Vanille in the presence of both Lightning and Serah, proving that she cared for those that she wasn't related to by blood.

And it was that same feeling, the sensation when Lightning first let her guard down, just a young lycan in the presence of those who no longer felt like such strangers. It was the feeling Fang felt when she could see how Lightning carried the gift of food back to their family once again, as if she felt safe enough to let Fang watch the area that they walked within, content to lean against her arm and pay little attention to the rest of the world.

It was the same feeling she felt when they had rested together at the top of a low hill, watching how Vanille was racing around in the grass while chasing after Serah, who merely laughed and outran her pursuit every step of the way. It was just a playful sight, unknowingly training them for when they might truly have to run within later days of life.

It was that same feeling when Lightning settled down against the grass, laying there in her human form, so trusting of the lycan who sat by her side, the massive power of a wild beast, the feeling of mutual love. Though it hadn't yet been love of any romantic sort, such things would occur quite separately, it was the love between those of a family, between misfits and oddities, between those who adored their little siblings so very dearly, those who looked at the world from similar pasts, those who often traveled quite alone.

Fang had looked at her in the very same way, with gentle eyes, green as the verdant leaves, eyes that could love just as strongly as they could fear and hate, just as softly as the power that her teeth could use to rend and rip and tear. Lightning had slept that evening away, a young lycan in the presence of her newfound family, calm and gentle, so very soundless. Fang remembered the way that she slowly closed her eyes, how she had fallen asleep so swiftly, comforted by the nearby presence of company.

"How many years has it been?" Lightning kept her gaze to the path ahead, traveling home again. "You were seventeen when we had to run."

As she thought it over, Fang could smell the scent of Lightning's hair, still a bit floral from her morning shower, but it was the warm scent of her skin that brought back all of those old memories, the last embrace they shared before they parted to flee the city in smaller pairs. Serah went with Lightning and Vanille left with Fang herself, racing away from those guarded barricades and such furious, panicked citizens.

"I _was_ seventeen, wasn't I..?" Fang sniffed at the air, listening to the sounds of the fireworks. "I just haven't kept track of the time." She knew that she was likely in her early twenties, but there had never been much need to truly count the years.

Lightning lowered her voice to a whisper. "Two years older than me... You're twenty-three."

Fang shrugged. "Sounds about right." She inhaled a deep breath of air, smelling a thousand scents, from the familiar signature of her fellow lycan to the asphalt of the street, to the lofty birch trees, to the smell of the food that Lightning had bought for everyone, a treat for the holiday, cheese pizza with a half side of pepperoni, rich with the scents of meat and savory spices. "Nearly there, aren't we?"

Lightning glanced up at a nearby road sign. "You see why I take the bus to work?"

Fang smiled to herself, still walking side by side with her companion. "I do."

"Fang, I wanted to-" Lightning went very quiet for for a moment, silently traveling onward. "...I wanted to thank you."

Fang blinked at the sight of the distant fireworks. "For what?"

Lightning tried not to give Fang a gentle scowl. "You know what."

"For working with you today?" Fang could feel the brush of Lightning's arm against her own, still walking shoulder to shoulder. "For the money?"

Lightning kept her gaze on the sidewalk. "For both... You didn't have to do it."

"Yeah I did." Fang briefly hummed under her breath, slipping her hands back down into both of her jacket pockets. "What, you thought I was just gonna take the cash for myself? ...You think I don't care about us?" She slowly leaned over to look Lightning in the eye. "That I don't care about you..? Why do you think we came all the way back here?"

Lightning swallowed her next few words away, for she wasn't one to let her nerves take hold, nor to flush at the warm, humming way in which Fang said those words, yet she couldn't help the first few hints of pinkness in her cheeks, just the slightest soft hues of affection.

Fang smiled to herself again. "Wolves run in packs... And humans used to live in tribes." She watched the way that Lightning's fingertips twitched against the pizza box. "So what does that make us?"

Lightning knew it was a rather odd case, for lycanthropes weren't natural beasts, they were merely humans who suffered from something inexplainable to the many sciences, an affliction of both physical form and a more subtle mental nature. They weren't wolves, nor were they truly humans, at least not in the sense that they could fully integrate, but what were they, then?

"You want to know what I think?" Fang kept her voice low, only for Lightning's ears. "I think a family's a family, no matter what species... Doesn't matter what you call it, just as long as you know who you love."

Lightning kept silent until they reached the crosswalk that led towards the forest, bordering the parking lot of the apartment buildings. "And you... Love us?"

"Of course." Fang could almost sense the way that Lightning realized the weight of what she said, for she quickened her pace to move across the street, on to the opposite sidewalk that would lead her home again.

Perhaps it was the fact that the two of them had never put quite themselves into words, they had always just stood near each other, or occasionally gone off to try something that might be just a bit too intimate for their younger companions to see, perhaps that was why Lightning looked just a bit more tense than she had been before. It wasn't a panicked sort of thing, nor was it fearful, or even unwanting, just the realization that all of those close little moments from so very long ago, the gentle, lingering touches on her face and throat, maybe a soft kiss or two, the warm brush of human skin, that they were enough to still make her heart flutter.

And Fang just followed after her, walking in a calm, steady sort of silence. She knew they had never been official, perhaps purposefully so, just in case they ever did grow weary of each other, or in case an argument ever did force them apart, though they had no way of knowing that it would be an outside influence, far out of their own hands. Fang could still remember that last touch, an embrace in the face of deadly force, of enemies closing in from almost every direction, a close, tight hug that promised they would meet again, that nothing could truly rip their little family away for very long.

And that promise, Fang realized that it hadn't truly been broken, for she and Vanille had indeed ventured back into Cocoon, unwilling to live out their days alone, to go without the ones who had grown so very close to their hearts.

It was for that same reason that Lightning paused when they reached the parking lot, still holding the pizza box in her hands. It was for that same reason that she looked back at Fang in a rather gentle way, and began to speak in the softest voice she could muster. "...I think the feeling's mutual."

* * *

Serah sat up quickly at the first sound at the door, and when her ears caught the jingle of keys, of the door creaking open with two different sets of footsteps at the hallway, she nearly rushed back to her own feet and ran out into the hall to meet them.

"Light!" Serah paused at the sight of the pizza box, yet it didn't stop her from smiling and running up to hug Lightning. "You remembered, didn't you?"

Lightning nodded, standing there with just a hint of amusement on her face. "It's a holiday, isn't it?"

Serah soon moved back with a more than a slight bounce to her step, rather like the way that Vanille swiftly followed after her, jumping at the sight of both Fang and Lightning, joyful to see them both back again.

"Right, right..." Fang felt herself bump against the wall when Vanille leapt up to hug her as well, welcoming her home. "How was your day? Both of you."

"Oh!" Vanille spoke first, swiftly moving away from Fang to follow after Lightning, who was still carrying the pizza box. "It was pretty good, and I've got something to show you, Light!"

Lightning brought the large box into the living room, which she moved to set down upon the coffee table. "We'll need some plates for this."

Serah stepped back into the hall, off towards the kitchen to retrieve what they would need.

"What do you have to show me?" Lightning moved aside to let Fang sit against the couch. "I just need to get my jacket off."

Vanille nodded and hopped on after Lightning, who made her way towards the tiny closet near the end of the hall. "Oh, it's good, Light! Serah showed me how to paint the way you were doing it yesterday."

Lightning tugged off her jacket and purse to hang them up against the coat rack. "Did she, now..?"

Vanille nodded again. "And it's almost done!"

Lightning paused, standing there near the back wall of the hallway, before she reached out to ruffle Vanille's hair. "That's one less thing for us to finish, then."

Vanille grinned and nodded yet again, watching the way that Lightning turned to face the other hall, yet when she moved away, off towards one of the separate rooms, Vanille couldn't help but follow her.

"It was pretty fun, actually, and Serah found a little radio for me to listen to." Vanille soon glanced at the room in question, pointing out at each part of the painted walls. "Looks almost finished, doesn't it?" After a moment that seemed like silent approval, Vanille followed after Lightning again, quick to try and reconnect after so many years. "I haven't painted anything like this before."

"Looks like you did a good job." Lightning paused in the doorway of her room, before she slowly made her way towards the tall drawer of clothing, making it clear that Vanille should probably look the other way if she wanted to avoid seeing her change clothes.

And Vanille did just that, chattering away while she turned to look at the side of the room that held Lightning's personal things, a sparse array of tools and the occasional object of sentiment. A long red scarf, for example, it was something Lightning always used to carry in her traveling bag, along with other spare clothes and supplies, and it was one of the only items that she ever wore for the sake of aesthetics.

Lightning listened to the way that Vanille kept talking about everything and anything, hardly any different from the times when she always used to grow so excited back whenever her family used to return in days long past. Whether it was from a trip to hunt for food or just to scout out the area, any occasion was good enough to catch up on the day's events, and because of the fact that they hadn't truly had a chance to speak to each other in those several years, Lightning knew it was rather important for her to listen closely.

Her work clothes were rather comfortable to wear around the house, but Lightning took them off to change into a softer set of sweatpants and a flannel shirt, perfect for a sleepy dinner of pizza, and perhaps even something that she intended to find from the refrigerator. Yet when Vanille began to recount the days leading up to their recent approach of the city, the sound of her voice grew rather quiet and soft.

Lightning was sitting on the edge of her bed, and she gently tossed her work clothes away into the hamper at the side of the room. She looked over at where Vanille was sitting as well, gazing out at the window beside the single bedside table.

"We caught a deer before we got here." Vanille peered at the distant lights of the fireworks, at the slight flicker of color that echoed out against the clouds. "It was the first one we'd been able to find since getting back to Cocoon... I always feel a little bad about doing it, but we were getting tired of being hungry, you know?"

"I know the feeling." Lightning slowly stood up to sit on the other edge of the bed, close beside Vanille. "Serah and I had to make do with a lot of things that we didn't quite like... But it's what you have to do."

"Yeah..." Vanille went silent for a long while, gazing out at the lights. "We can't always be human, can we?"

Lightning nodded. "The world won't always let us."

"Did Fang-" Vanille paused for a very long moment, before she started to massage the curve of her own wrists, gently calming herself down. "Did Fang tell you about what happened right before we got here?"

Lightning stared at the window of her bedroom. "She told me you were attacked."

Vanille glanced down at her arms, before she slowly looked over at Lightning. "Back when I was little... I remember what you did for us."

Lightning's mind suddenly drifted back to the tiny lycan who always tagged along after Fang, the young girl named Vanille, always so very cheerful and sunny. She'd been just a child at the time, yet despite the smiles and laughter, she was prone to freezing up or startling at even the smallest unknown sound, enough that it left little to the imagination about why she had once been alone. They'd found each other, Fang once said, in a village near the border of Cocoon and Gran Pulse, and that Vanille had been a child of the lycanthropic purges, a victim of the witch hunt, orphaned and left to the judgment of the guardians of that town.

"I remember... What you did." Vanille's eyes were so very distant, envisioning the time when the four of them once traveled together, to a night when they had all been separated by such explosive gunfire, when Lightning simply swept her up into those long, strong arms, perhaps a surrogate for her own sister, swiftly carrying Vanille away from beneath the barrage of shells and mortar fire. "You saved me, just like Fang did."

Lightning remembered the way that Vanille had shivered against her, just a child against the utter strength of a lycanthrope, the concrete shield of both solid muscle and pelt.

"You..." Vanille took a moment just to breathe. "You had to do it."

A long, thin dribble of blood had once slid down that massive jawline, foaming between the teeth of a massive beast, the lycan who'd brought her fangs down into the throat of an attacker, all while sheltering her distant kin from the long, ringing echoes of an assault rifle.

Vanille remembered the sheer scent of it, so rich and dark and metallic, like the gunshots that grew more and more silent over those endless passing minutes. She had watched the way Lightning wiped most of the blood off with her wrist, just an afterthought, before she moved away from those who had previously opened fire upon her. It had been quite simple after that, just to let herself go limp and have Lightning carry her away from the danger, for she had only been a child at the time, no older than six years old, while the pale lycan who'd picked her up, she was already twelve, nearing maturity within her more feral form, and quite strong enough to lift her up without much effort at all.

"You had to do it." Vanille tried to keep her voice from trembling. "You had to kill them."

Lightning felt a small frown crease her lips, and she slowly held out a single arm, which soon felt the warmth Vanille's presence, moving in to be close.

"You can't even _think_ when it happens, can you?" Vanille leaned her forehead against Lightning's shoulder, trying not to sniffle or cry, but she soon felt herself relax a bit when Lightning hugged her from the side. "I just _saw_ it, and then everything went so _bright_..."

Lightning kept silent, holding Vanille close.

"They hurt Fang." Vanille squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and she clenched her teeth together, keeping them from sharpening out. "It was one of us, just like _us_ , Light... But I had to do it."

"...I know you did." Lightning slowly stroked her hand against Vanille's shoulder, trying to comfort her in the same way she'd often done for Serah; she was well-practiced from those uncertain times when they were younger, when the next day felt like it was still miles off in the distance, when the threat of death loomed just beyond the horizon. "It's always there, Vanille."

Vanille tried not to let herself tremble, sniffling as quietly as she could. "...What is?"

"The violence." Lightning looked up when a low sound echoed quietly from the hallway, and when she looked back over her shoulder, she nearly nodded at the sight of Fang. "We do what we have to... For family, there's almost nothing you can't commit with."

"Yeah." Vanille still had her eyes closed tight, and she didn't quite seem to notice the presence beneath the doorframe. "...I love Fang more than I hate killing."

Lightning watched that soft, subtle glimmer in Fang's eyes, the mutual love between each branch of their odd little family. "I know you do."

* * *

It took a bit of time to bring Vanille back to her more chipper state, a process of steady reassurance and more hugs than Lightning could count, but by the time she was able to coax her back into the living room, where Fang and Serah were already in the middle of watching a television show, the box of pizza on the coffee table hadn't yet grown cold from disuse.

Serah looked back over her shoulder. "Hey... Come look at this." She stood up to smile at Vanille, gently leading her over towards a few cushions on the floor, some of which were propped up against the coffee table. "They've even got the fireworks from Eden!"

Vanille smiled as well, and she followed after Serah, even when Lightning walked off into the hallway and then over towards the kitchen.

What happened in the forest would stay there, Lightning thought, for the nature of those who hunted lycanthropes, they were already rather hushed and secretive, and such people would likely not be willing to admit to using a lycan to hunt down its own kind, at least from what she had managed to learn about the topic itself. Lightning slowly shook her head at the thought of it, for she knew it was a problem for a different time, and that she should be focusing more upon the festive tone of the night, on her mended little family and the tasty scents of food from the living room.

The kitchen refrigerator mostly held just the essentials, sliced lunch meat for sandwiches and basic condiments, fruits and vegetables for the sake of nutrition, as a human body could scarcely feel healthy on a diet of exclusively meat, yet another thing that distanced them from the likes of wolves.

Lightning almost smiled to herself when she reached for a thin cardboard container in the back, one that held several dark bottles with shiny metal caps at the top. What a sight it would be, she thought, to see a wolf celebrating the change of seasons with alcohol... She was above the legal drinking age of Cocoon, and while she didn't usually prefer to drink anything that had the chance to get her tipsy, the fizzy taste of hard cherry lemonade was something that she often saved for special occasions, the end of a workweek, for example, or even a holiday.

The two bottles were frosty cold from their time in the back of the refrigerator, for she knew that Serah didn't much care for that certain kind of drink, and that Vanille was likely still too young for it, which left only herself and Fang. And as luck would have it, Lightning was greeted by the sight of the very same person, just as soon as she stood back up from beside the refrigerator.

"Oh, breaking out the good stuff?" Fang gave Lightning a rather toothy smile, before she accepted the dark bottle, examining the writing on the side. "...'Hard cherry lemonade'?"

Lightning tugged open one of the kitchen drawers for a bottle opener. "Don't let the looks fool you; it's practically beer." She thought back to that one time when she and Fang had earned a bit of money together when they were younger, far too young to sample alcohol, in retrospect, but the allure of something exclusively for adults had drawn them both right in, though not quite enough to get them inebriated. "Girly beer, but it's still the same when you get down to it."

Fang chuckled a bit, holding out her own bottle for Lightning to open it. "'Girly beer'..."

Lightning moved to uncap the other bottle. "Perfect for a holiday."

And that very first sip had Fang in agreement, for if she was to be truly honest with herself, the sweet, subtle liquid didn't even taste much like alcohol, yet it wasn't entirely like lemonade either. The cherry taste grew strong and fizzy, like bright little bubbles on her tongue with just a hint of lemon, sweetened and rich, almost like an unusual sort of soft drink. But she'd soon find that it did indeed carry the effects of alcohol, for as soon as Fang had sprawled herself back down on the couch again with a slice of pizza, the warm, bubbly feeling in her stomach became rather the same as whenever she could get her hands on a bit of beer or wine. It was enough that she didn't quite feel like sharing even a small sip of the cold cherry liquid, not even when Vanille's curiosity was brought to her attention.

Lightning glanced over at Fang. "Six years, hasn't it...? She's sixteen?"

Fang took a bite of pizza and shrugged.

"But what is it?" Vanille was peering at both of the dark bottles. "Doesn't look like any beer I've ever seen..."

"And what beer have you been looking at?" Fang propped her feet up against the coffee table. "Have a sip if you want, but no more than that."

Vanille smiled when Lightning offered her a tiny taste of the sweetened drink, yet as Fang had said, no more than that.

They were all quick to settle in with brief conversation during television commercials, and then silence when the fireworks and festivities were shown again, video feeds of people dancing within different festival grounds, far beneath starlit nights or even a gentle drizzle of rain, for the news station covered all areas of Cocoon, at least on such a festive night.

Lightning could still feel those aches in her limbs, the exhaustion from work, yet she made sure to eat enough food to count for dinner. She remembered all those nights of going hungry, of curling up against the cold ground and hoping that her friends weren't feeling the very same thing, the almost feverish little shivers and deep pangs of neediness inside her body, like she might just faint on the spot if they couldn't find anything to eat the next day.

That was the reason, Lightning knew, that they had found themselves wandering into human civilization in the first place. It didn't matter how proficient a hunter Fang was, if there was no prey to be found, no way to catch the swiftest wild animals, then they would simply go hungry until something could be procured. Yet Fang often spoke of her own childhood in Gran Pulse, how she'd crept across the border in utter silence, digging her way down beneath the barricades to sneak right under the noses of the patrols. She spoke of the plentiful game, of huge elk that ran so swiftly, but not fast enough to evade her and her parents, and of the many small animals that could easily be cornered or dug right out from the ground, of large, fluffy rodents and certain varieties of tasty reptiles, if only one was patient enough to pick off all of the scales. And Lightning had asked one night, why Fang even chose to leave in the first place, for if she way she spoke of it made such a life sound so very appealing, then why would she ever try going to Cocoon?

They had been resting within the depths of an abandoned construction site, tending the injuries they'd suffered from a group of lycan hunters, and every soft echo of their words bounced back and forth against the concrete walls, even when spoken in a whisper.

Fang had leaned in to trace beside the wound on Lightning's arm, trying to soothe the pain away, before she spoke of the urge to wander away and leave her home, of how staying in one place for too long always made her feel like venturing off again. And then Lightning had asked, wincing at the pain of each deep bullet wound, she asked if Fang would rather that she and Serah not be there, if it would make her feel more free, but those words were swiftly silenced by one of the very first kisses they would ever share.

The answer was mumbled against her mouth, that Fang never found either of her families to be the source of such wanderlust, and that if they ever were to find themselves forced away from each other, that she would surely search for them again.

The sound of a voice drew Lightning away from her memories, and she looked over to see how Serah was pointing at the dense array of fireworks on the television, footage that was likely from Eden itself.

"We should really go and see them next year." Serah listened to the distant sounds of Gapra's own display. "Maybe it won't be so rainy."

Lightning reached for a second slice of pizza, watching the television and listening to the way that Vanille began to chatter on about such festivities, of all the times she remembered from when they traveled together. Those days beneath the sunlight and the steady winds, they had felt longer than they truly were, and Lightning was very well aware of just how young they all had been, even if it felt like a near eternity of time.

"And that one beach near Euride, remember that?" Vanille glanced up at Fang. "Remember the cute little _seals?!_ "

Fang smiled, nodding. "I remember you telling me not to get any ideas about chasing them..."

Vanille scowled slightly, yet she couldn't help but giggle at the thought of a lycan splashing around in the waves, chasing after whatever marine life she could find.

"That reminds me." Fang soon set down her own plate of food to reach for her satchel from beside the couch, one that was almost as big as a suitcase, enough to hold several spare sets of clothes and other daily supplies. "Almost forgot to give them these, didn't we?"

Vanille's eyes widened when Fang took out a pair of rather shiny objects from the satchel, souvenirs from their distant travels.

Lightning blinked when Fang handed her one of the little shells, a multicolored ammonite fossil, so very round and curly.

"There's a beach in Gran Pulse that's full of them." Fang reached across the coffee table to give the other shell to Serah. "We'll just call it a holiday gift."

"Wow..." Serah took a moment to examine the many narrow ridges and smooth contours of the fossil, gazing at just how shiny it was from exposure to the ocean waves. "Thank you so much..."

Lightning nodded her thanks as well, gently tracing her fingertips against the sleek little shell. "It's beautiful."

Fang felt a hint of a smile cross her lips, and she reached down for her plate of pizza again.

Vanille started to speak about the way that they had found the beach itself, how she and Fang followed a river all the way down to a mighty waterfall, which led towards the ocean below, and how they had made their way down across the mossy cliffsides, finding the lonely little beach with so many various washed up fossils.

And as she listened in, Lightning let her mind wander off again, slowly sipping at her drink. She could already tell just how fuzzy the alcohol made her limbs feel, almost as if she had a pelt again, yet it went much deeper than that, like her own blood had become all fluffy and silently bright, even with how exhausted her limbs felt. Her eyes soon began to slip shut, for the food was already starting to feel quite heavy inside her belly, and along with the effects of alcohol, it all became rather potent beside a long day of work.

Fang watched the way that Lightning began to drift off, so safe and comforted by each of the presences around her. It was so rare to see her actually fall asleep, for Lightning always used to take the nighttime duties of scouting out the area around them, before she'd settle down by herself, or in certain cases, curl up beside her companions, long after they were already slumbering away.

Perhaps it would seem odd to some, to all sleep right up next to each other, but without a roof above their heads or blankets to cover them up, warmth was often only found beside their fellow lycans, and they almost always took on their bestial forms to keep themselves even warmer. It was only on the luckiest occasions, when they found an abandoned building, for example, somewhere with old furniture to rip up or salvage a bit of fabric from, or even blankets in somewhat secure storage, soft places to lay down and rest, only then did they regularly sleep in human forms.

But there had been a time, Fang remembered, when she and Lightning once ran off for a brief night together, when they traveled across the forest as humans, aided by the keen vision and sense of smell that only a lycan could possess, there had been a time when they both found a soft, verdant patch of flowering moss to rest in. It had been a massive fallen tree trunk, hollow and dark, sheltered from the wind and the chill of the forest; it was there that Fang decided to take a moment to nap, just to sleep a bit and wake up later on to spend the night in other ways. Yet when she finally did wake, it was only to see that Lightning had curled herself up right beside her.

How pretty she looked in the faint moonlight, beside the dark green moss and those tiny leaves of clover, a pale rose in the shadows of the forest. The lycan within might have had thorns and sharp prickles, a wolf in almost every way, but when she was slumbering there in her human form, there was hardly anything about her that looked quite so ferocious. And Fang had reached out to stroke gently against her cheek, waking her from that slumber, enough that Lightning's eyes slipped open to look at whoever was touching her, before she slowly reached up to hold Fang's hand in her own.

She was sleeping in almost the same way, resting there with the half-empty bottle in her hand, leaning against the couch in an utterly relaxed position, so much that her head had turned itself to the side, pressed up against the fabric of the sofa.

It was a minute or two before Serah took notice, and she merely sighed, speaking as quietly as she could. "This happens a lot... She just gets home and falls asleep, but I can't really blame her."

Fang reached over to pick up the bottle from Lightning's hand, before she placed it down against the coffee table.

"I _am_ worried about this, guys..." Serah turned to face the sofa, leaning her arms against the smooth glass surface of the low table. "What was it like out there? How much does she have to work?"

Fang leaned back against the couch, gazing at the almost serene look on Lightning's face. "It's a full workday of physical exertion... And you said she only takes Sunday off?"

Serah frowned in affirmation.

"Alright." Fang lowered her voice to a very soft whisper. "I kept up with her today, and I did just as much work as she did... It's a rough time, I'll tell you that much, but if she's really alright with us sticking around here for a while, then I'm gonna do whatever the hell I can to make it easier for her."

Vanille spoke up as well, whispering just as softly. "What can I do?"

Fang drew in a deep breath, before she leaned back even further to think of an answer to give. "I'm just not sure, kiddo... But if I can get a more permanent place on the roster, then I'd bet I could get her to at least take Saturday off."

Serah's eyes widened by a slight degree. "You're staying with us, then?" She started to smile, gazing up from where she was resting beside the coffee table. "Just like before... How it used to be."

Fang nodded. "A family's got to look out for each other." She glanced at the faint glow of streetlights beyond the windowsill. "But as for staying right here... It's a little too small for us to just barge in."

Serah shook her head. "We've been painting the spare room." She saw the way that Fang was about to object, so Serah simply rose up to her feet for a moment, unwilling to back down on such a thing. "It's big enough to be a single bedroom... And don't you _dare_ say that you aren't already fine with sharing a space with Light."

Fang almost seemed to smirk at the sheer determination in Serah's voice; while there was indeed a great deal of strength behind her words, she didn't seem entirely sure of her own proposal, or if Fang and Vanille even wanted to stay there in the same apartment. Had she overstepped? Serah's fingertips slowly tightened against her palms. When she had spoken in the morning of just how worried she was about Lightning's health, it felt as if Fang simply took up the responsibility of trying to remedy the situation, but had she assumed too much of her former family?

It was the sudden smile on Fang's face that told her otherwise, the sly look of pride and familial affection, as if she might actually be impressed by the way Serah was still standing there in such a steadfast way, inviting those who she had once been so close with to move back into her life again.

Serah slowly sat down once more. "Light, she's..." She looked at where Lightning was sleeping so peacefully on the couch, like she almost always did, at least until Serah herself woke her up to send her right off to bed. "She's had to do it all alone, now." Serah blinked and shook her head. "I've been taking small jobs between classes and on Saturday, just to help, but Light's the one who really does the work."

Fang's gaze drifted to the side, staring at window beside the television, at the way the fireworks were slowly fading off into the distance. "Then it's a good thing we got here when we did."

Serah found herself smiling again, filled with sheer relief at the way Fang began to lounge a bit more casually on the sofa, as if her role as a guest had started to feel more like a returning presence, almost as if she was truly home again.

"And yeah, I don't mind sharing a space with Light, just as long as she's alright with it." Fang stretched out her arms, before she reached down to sip at her drink again, relaxing within the later hours of the evening. "But considering how cuddly she was feeling last night..."

Vanille giggled a bit. "She was all tucked in when I woke her up today."

Fang smirked to herself. "No secrets among us, eh?"

Vanille giggled again and sat upright, bracing her elbows against the coffee table. "Oh, I bet the two of you have more than a few secrets..."

Fang quirked an eyebrow at that, but she simply finished off her drink, before she leaned over to set it back down beside the other bottle. "What sort of secrets do you think we've got?"

Vanille made a rather sly face, and she almost rolled her eyes at the thought of such things. "Mushy secrets."

"Mushy, huh." Fang leaned back against the sofa, but when a sudden sensation touched her shoulder, she glanced over to see that Lightning herself had moved over in her sleep, resting there in search of the comfort of her presence. "...But it's hardly a secret."

Serah smiled and looked back at the television screen. "Just keep telling yourself that."

"Oh?" Fang smiled as well, but she kept very still so that she wouldn't disturb Lightning from where she was resting. "And what about _you_ , little Farron? I've got the best nose out of all of us... What's that scent you've got on you?"

Serah almost seemed to freeze in place. "Um-"

"Oh!" Vanille moved back against the cushions again, and she would have leaned in to try and detect the scent that Fang was talking about, if only Serah hadn't suddenly reached out to grapple her away, refusing to be sniffed or examined closer.

"It's just someone from class today..!" Serah rolled her eyes and wrestled with Vanille for a short while, trying to evade closer inquiry. "I gave him a copy of the lesson texts, nothing else!"

Vanille giggled under her breath, and she finally gave up the chase, before she sat back down beside the coffee table. "Then why is it strong enough for Fang to smell it?"

Serah's face went a bit pale, before her cheeks flushed slightly at the look on Fang's face.

Fang crossed her ankles against each other, resting her feet against the coffee table once more. "Because whoever it was is a lycan."

"Oh, that stupid nose..." Serah muttered and glanced back at the television show. "I didn't even _talk_ to him, you know, just copied the current lessons from my textbook."

Fang looked back at the television as well. "He didn't have his own textbook?"

Serah shook her head. "He looked a little scruffy, to be honest... Like it might've been difficult to even get the books he had."

Vanille reached back to nibble on a slice of pizza. "That was nice of you to copy it for him."

Serah tried not to smile. "He just looked like he needed it... It almost looked like he was sad about something, or just really tired with the lesson."

"I don't know how you manage it." Fang slowly closed her eyes, relaxing into the way that Lightning was resting her head against her shoulder. "I'd be bored out of my mind in a place like that."

"It's not that bad, really." Serah stifled a soft yawn with her wrist, already quite drowsy at such a late hour in the evening. "It's just a little boring in the summer... When the fall classes pick up again, it'll be more interesting."

Fang sighed and crossed her arms, before she leaned over to rest her cheek against the side of Lightning's head. "I'm never gonna get the two of you out of here, am I?"

Serah glanced over her shoulder. "Out of where?"

"Cocoon." Fang mumbled something under her breath, settling in to rest even further against the couch. "I'd better pick my battles, then... Look after whatever I can."

Serah turned to face the sofa again. "Why would you want to get us out of Cocoon?"

Fang exhaled, before she slowly opened her eyes, just for a short moment of time. "You want the truth of it, Serah?"

Serah could feel the sudden chill of Fang's words, the pangs of bitterness that didn't quite sting, though it left her feeling frigid all the same. "...Yes."

"Your sister is working herself to death in her twenties." Fang spoke without malice, but her words were still clear and sharp. "Her _twenties_ , Serah, because she loves you more than enough to do it." Those deep green eyes seemed so much darker in the low light, that beastly gaze that always lingered right behind the human figure, the wolf who lurked beneath the shadows of her wry, tired smile. "And we came back here because we found somewhere else to call home, somewhere better... To bring you both with us, just like it used to be." Fang's eyes slipped shut again. "There are killers in the world, Serah, you're more than old enough to understand that... We're not human, not really, and they _hate_ us for it."

Vanille frowned at nothing in particular, hugging her arms against her knees.

"And we're not wolves, either." Fang could feel the softness of Lightning's hair against her cheek. "...We're not animals, but that's all some of them can see in us." She opened her eyes to look at Serah again. "Sooner or later, and I don't know when..." Fang trailed off for a short moment, meeting the strength of Serah's gaze, the same source of fire that burned so brightly within the spirit of both sisters, the sheer determination to make the best out of any situation. "Serah, we'll stay here with the both of you until it happens, but when it does... And it _always_ does, it's just not fair to let her do this to herself again."

Serah felt her own fingertips prick the skin of her palms, claws that just wouldn't go dull, all because of the sheer truth in Fang's words, drawing out the smallest amount of blood. And Vanille's eyes went wide at the scent of it, but Fang just kept gazing at her in that calm, serious way, the surrogate voice of a parent, one who called the shots even if it might hurt to say such things, even if the life that they'd been living had grown so very deep inside their hearts, unfurling like tangled vines, rooted there to the very nature of what they had become, in which it was impossible to alter without such degrees of pain.

"Serah, don't..." Vanille reached for Serah's arms to try and relax those tightening fists, to make the lycan sleep again, but she could feel only the slightest hint of human skin beneath her fingertips. "Serah-"

"You think I _want_ this?" Serah's voice trembled with each word she spoke. "You think I want to see her like _this_..? She won't budge from it, Fang! Won't take less hours at work, won't take Saturday off... I hardly ever _see_ her anymore!" Serah tried to keep her voice down, tried to make her teeth become blunt again, but she could barely even stop her own hands from shivering. "She gets home like this, goes to sleep and then just drags herself back to work the next day, maybe I get a conversation or two on the weekends, but that's _it_."

Vanille kept brushing her fingertips down over the soft pelt that had revealed itself on Serah's skin, the wolf that rose up to snarl and snap at the source of such painful things, and gradually, with each passing second, by the sheer calmness of Vanille's demeanor, the dense, pale fur slowly began to fade.

Serah felt just a couple of tears trickle down her face, beneath eyes that wouldn't turn blue again, locked in that feral shade of gold. "I'll... I'll finish school before too long, get my own job, something that pays more than whatever we earn now, enough that she'll never have to work again."

Fang could hear it so clearly, then, the same tone of protectiveness that she had heard so many times in Lightning's voice. It was the call of a sibling, a family member, the sheer need that Serah held to return everything that Lightning had ever done for her, from childhood to those later days, even to where she stood upon that very same summer evening, beneath the growing darkness of the night.

"Less than two years, Fang..." Serah could feel her canine teeth receding, though they still felt sharp enough to easily draw blood. "I've always wanted to be a teacher, or maybe study history, but I can settle for something else... I'll take _care_ of her, just like everything else she's done for us."

And Fang slowly nodded, gazing out with the eyes of an adult, one quite wisened to the cruel whims of the world. "It might not even come to that."

Serah almost slumped back against the side of the coffee table again, weary and worn, still letting Vanille try to soothe the rest of that feral beast away, gently coaxing it back to sleep.

"I'm sorry it was like this." Fang looked out at the dark night sky, long absent of the lights of the fireworks. "Nobody's really at fault, here... It's just a rough spot to be in."

Serah nodded to herself. "Don't be sorry." She watched the last bits of her claws fade away, easing back into much softer fingernails. "...We had to talk about it sometime."

Fang smiled gently. "You're older now, Serah, older than either Lightning or I was back then... This sort of business just comes with the territory."

Serah tried to keep her voice as quiet as she could. "Why does anyone ever grow up..?"

And Fang finally laughed under her breath, a true sound of mirth. "Now _that_... I might never know."

* * *

It was rather late in the night by the time that Fang carefully lifted Lightning up from the couch, bringing her off to her own bedroom, for Vanille had volunteered to sleep on the sofa for the night. Serah quickly offered to take the blankets on the floor, but Fang declined.

"You need to rest well for school." Fang stood there with Lightning in her arms, gently carrying her towards the hallway. "Don't worry about me, I can sleep on anything."

Serah just nodded silently, before she started to clean up the little coffee table, lifting the pizza box to put away the leftovers, along with the bottles of alcohol. Vanille soon moved to help her, following Serah into the kitchen.

Fang walked off towards Lightning's room, humming quietly with each and every step she took, just to savor the warmth beside her chest, the soft feeling of Lightning's hair at the edge of her neck, where she was still resting from before.

"You've got all of us, now." Fang gently pushed open the door with one of her shoulders. "It won't be so tough anymore... We found you, Light, and we're gonna make it better."

Lightning didn't stir from her sleep, but when Fang started to push the blankets aside and set her down against the bed, the quietest hint of a murmur left her throat. Fang just made a soft shushing sound in return, even when those blue eyes slid open again, briefly awakened from the sensation of being moved.

"Fang?" Lightning peered out with the eyes of a wolf, eyes that could see every curve of Fang's face in the darkness, every soft, subtle line of her smile. "I fell asleep?"

Fang nodded, reaching out to pull the covers up towards where they needed to be. "You looked pretty tired."

Lightning felt the way Fang tucked her in, gently moving the blankets down, making sure that she would be warm enough throughout the night. Lightning could see those eyes in the dark, forest green, just as gentle as her strong hands, and it almost felt strange to think of just how powerful she could really be. There had been a time when they were hunted in the early days, when Fang lashed out at their pursuers and fought them off with every inch of her strength, a dark, massive lycan that could likely kill a human or anything else by sheer impact alone, never mind those long, sharpened teeth. How was it then, that such a fearsome beast could find herself being so soft and tender, briefly kissing at the top of Lightning's forehead to coax her back to sleep again? How could she become so gentle?

"I'll see you in the morning." Fang murmured each word against Lightning's cheek, kissing her one last time for the night. "Get some good sleep, okay?"

Lightning almost wanted to reach out for Fang's hands and ask her to stay, just to sleep next to her again, but they had only been back together so briefly, and the fact that it might be too awkward to explain such things to either Serah or Vanille, it began to make more than a bit of sense that she should rest alone.

"We'll talk tomorrow." Fang gently ran her index finger along the curve of Lightning's jawline. "And I've got a feeling we'll be staying here a while, if that's still alright with you..."

Lightning spoke in just a whisper. "Of course it's alright."

Fang smiled, before she reached up to tug away the bandage from her own cheek, revealing the way that it had already started to heal, just a small, pale line of redness on her skin. "Safety in numbers, eh?"

Lightning slowly nodded against the pillows. "Go make sure Vanille's alright... She might not show it, but whatever happened out there-"

"I will, Light." Fang gradually stood up from the edge of the bed. "It was pretty rough, but we got through it."

Lightning reached out to hold one of Fang's hands, just for a moment, before she slowly settled back down beneath the blankets, curling up to go to sleep.

"Rest well." Fang turned to approach the bedroom doorway, drifting there like a beast in the dark, watchful and alert, caught within the primal urge to make sure that the area was safe for her sleeping friend, to search for any threats that might still be lingering there in the darkness. But there was only the soft sounds of conversation from the kitchen and the quiet crickets in the world beyond the apartment, so Fang closed the bedroom door just as silently as she could, before she leaned back to take a very deep breath. There were always those instincts, the sense that the world was swiftly changing, growing colder with the passing days, and the part of her mind that thought like a wolf considered the little apartment to be a decent enough den to wait out the winter chills, to live in and hunt from, at least until the spring came again.

But they weren't wolves, Fang knew, they were merely caught between both lives, between the urge to be human or otherwise, between solitude and the need for community life. She still remembered the way both Serah and Vanille would always seem to brighten whenever they'd venture into a town or city, kindling the primal urge to be near other people. But Lightning, she was more like Fang herself, inwardly wary and aloof with those she didn't yet know, often a loner, one who valued those quiet days within the forest, when they could hunt and be alone with their own family, safe from most of those who sought to harm them.

And with that thought, Fang slowly made her way back down the hall, even when she found herself thinking back to the time when she herself had been just a child, a little human who didn't even think it was odd to see her parents suddenly become something much different, to be wolves, or even something more unusual. There had been a time when her mother once carried her around the mountain range, teaching her the ways of the jagged terrain, pointing at each landmark and type of tree, gesturing at them with her short, dark claws. And Fang had just looked at those fingertips with a curious sort of gaze, wondering why her mother's skin was suddenly so very fluffy, and why she had pointy ears and a long, elegant snout, but it would be several years before Fang's own lycan form would reveal itself to the world.

She would stand there atop the mountainside as a young wolf, gazing out over the world and wondering just what else could await beyond the mighty cliffsides and deep, dark forests, beyond the limits of Gran Pulse. Would there truly be other people there, like her and her parents? Would she ever meet the many numerous tribes they spoke of?

Back in the present day, Fang almost laughed to herself, leaning her shoulder against the wall of the hallway as she walked on towards the living room. Who could have ever guessed the sorts of people she would meet in her travels? A tiny lycan from the border of her own homeland and Cocoon, a pair of fierce, yet gentle sisters, the new family she'd found from the wilds. She suddenly remembered the feeling of Lightning's heartbeat from one of the very first times they had rested close together, the way it quickened at even the slightest sound from the woodlands, yet it grew so steady again once Fang reached up to rub at her shoulders, soothing away the concern.

A family. Fang's vision slowly shifted from the sight of the living room to that of a clearing in the woods, of a dark place beneath the deep roots of a tree, a den within the earth that would feel so warm even at nighttime, burrowed there beneath the loose dirt and the soft, dry leaves. It was the place for a family, within walls that wouldn't allow anything harmful to get inside, a quiet place where they could rest and live their lives in peace. But was the true reality of it, was such a place really a home? Fang turned her gaze back to the hallway, not a tunnel in the earth, but a man-made structure, wood and colorful paper and frail drywall, things that could crumble down or burn if they were ever found by those who wished them to be slain.

And that was the moment when Fang knew, for even though it was definitely not a task for that hour of the night, it was something that she definitely had to do, if only to soothe away the worries in her mind so she could rest again; she would find somewhere to dig all of her troubles away.

Fang was soon greeted by the sleepy voices of her younger family, and she found herself hugging them both, assuring them that despite any previous snarls in their reunion, that there was still that bond they had all fostered over so many years together. Serah was taller than she had been before, Fang realized, and that she'd barely even noticed how much Vanille had grown as well, no longer the little child who she had saved and brought along with her.

Their group had gone from two adults to four, even if Fang herself been so young when they all first met. There had been a void within the dynamic, a need for someone to be the one in charge, but the balance of power soon settled quite nicely between both Fang and Lightning, for they had always made their decisions just as fairly as they could. But things had changed, Fang realized as she settled down on the couch again, watching television screen. The world around her had changed, and her family had shifted so much as well, no longer the children who had followed after her and Lightning without question, relying on their strength for support. She found herself thinking back to the first time that Vanille had returned to their resting spot with a bit of prey, an animal she had caught on her own, something that made Fang's heart swell with such pride, so much that she promised to teach her how to hunt larger game just as soon as she had grown strong enough.

It was in that moment when Vanille sat down on the sofa as well, cuddling up against Fang's shoulder, in need of reassurance in such a new place and time. So Fang moved her arm around to hold Vanille close, all while she watched the midnight news. Serah soon approached as well, and it was only a matter of time before she had them both there in her arms, resting on either side, surrogate siblings in need of closeness.

Fang promised herself, then, that just as soon as she had the time, she would make somewhere else that they could run to, somewhere safe enough to meet if anything was to go wrong, a backup plan. It was that same protectiveness that drove her to speak again in such whispers, gently asking what had been on her own mind ever since they'd ventured into the city.

Vanille slowly glanced up at the sound of Fang's voice.

"How are you doing with all of this?" Fang tried not to envision the way Vanille's mouth had been dripping with such terrible bloodshed. "Are you okay?"

Vanille's eyes betrayed her thoughts for only half of a second, but she merely nodded, snuggling up against Fang's shoulder. "I'll be alright."

While Fang knew there as at least some truth to those words, even if their physical wounds wouldn't scar, the violence itself would leave marks in other places, perhaps in the actions of their minds.

"I've got you guys..." Vanille closed her eyes. "We'll be just fine."

It was much later that night that Fang rested there beneath the darkness, curled up against the blankets while Vanille slumbered away on the couch. She could hear each sound of the little room, of the pipes in the walls, of the heater that had to chug much harder within the chill of the night, and she could hear each tiny breath that Vanille drew, the low little sounds of such deep, dark sleep.

But Fang remained awake for a long while, gazing up at the windows on the wall, fighting the urge to go outside and survey the area just to make sure they were all truly safe. It was only when she could no longer keep herself still that she rose up to her feet, and she slowly made her way off towards the window.

The parking lot was filled up with cars again, from the people who had made that place their home, back again from work or school or anything else they had to do that day. Fang set her hands down against the chilly little windowsill, gazing out at the city that stood beyond the glass, at the distant skyscrapers and rectangular buildings, an entire civilization born from the need to be close to one another.

Perhaps they could find a balance, Fang thought, a way to see everyone in her family in a happy state, a mix of both the wilderness and the comfort of stable living. There was always the nearby woodland, the oaks and birch trees that waited just beyond the parking lot, a dense forest within the heart of the city. And it wasn't even the most well-visited park, in fact, from the outdoor signposts she had seen, just a public wildlife preserve.

Fang's lips slowly twitched into a smile, and her teeth almost began to gleam beneath the soft glow of the terrace lamplights. "Wildlife, eh..?"


	6. Chapter 6

The days spun by in a rather tangled blur, a mix of waking up in the mornings, working once more, of sleeping yet again, of meals shared around the kitchen table. They could all feel the gathering chill in the autumn winds, and a certain sort of rhythm made itself more and more prominent with every passing day.

There were several repairs to make, things to do just to make the apartment a bit more livable, from painting the rest of the spare room to fixing the many leaks in the bathroom sink, little household jobs that Vanille soon found herself in charge of. Yet on a certain day, a day when there was hardly anything else to do, she found herself browsing through a certain someone's computer, as Lightning herself was still at work. The dusty little device was nearly as antiquated as the television in the living room, yet it seemed as if Lightning had been careful enough to set up a proxy server, if only to conceal her own location from the world.

It was on that rather chilly day, a day when Vanille was all alone in the apartment, wrapped up in a blanket, having already asked for permission from Lightning to browse the internet for a while, it was on that cold, misty Thursday that Vanille happened upon a bookmarked website, when she began to delve into the underground world of lycanthrope hunters.

Lightning herself must have routinely scoured it, Vanille realized, she must have searched for any hint that her or Serah's names were out there in the open. Yet the one thing that kept them safe, the golden rule of an unsustainable resource, it was the fact that one should not freely share one's information with the rest of the world, lest that very same prize be claimed instead by those who were like-minded. Vanille almost recoiled when she clicked upon a certain forum topic, for there was the immediate image of a pelt displayed there, one with a full lupine head still attached, and she swiftly shivered at the mere sight of it, even beneath the warmth of the woven blanket.

Lightning had warned her of course, she had told her not to open the bookmarks if she wasn't ready to see the full extent of their persecution, of those who traded tips on killing their kind, or even names and images of those afflicted by such a condition. It quickly reminded Vanille of a story she'd once been told, the story of Lightning's own childhood, whispered to her in an abandoned place, a silent ruin in the dark. It was the story of a man, a man who had once been slain out in the streets, a man who always kept his driver's license inside his pocket, a man whose wife was swiftly forced to flee the city because of that fact, to take her children along with her for their own continued safety. There was a chance, Lightning once told her, a chance that their names were already well-known to someone with that very intent, that their human faces were exposed to the world, that the crosshairs of a gun might someday line themselves up with the back of Lightning's head, bringing on the darkness that had once caught her father in its snare.

In her present thoughts, Vanille looked away from the computer screen, and she pulled the blanket even closer to herself. Such things usually happened when they were changed, she knew that much, a practiced eye that could spot a lycan from a regular canine, or even someone with the intuition to hunt down the ones who lived in more remote places, searching for a flash of guilt in one's eyes, or an instinctual curl of the lip.

That very same thing, Vanille remembered, it had once happened to Fang herself; it was in a time when they'd all found an abandoned boxcar in a ditch beside an old path of railroad tracks, a big, wooden shelter with edible mushrooms that grew in the walls and many scuttling mice to chase. Vanille knew that they had all been so very young at the time, that it was only natural for Fang to suddenly snap when a stranger appeared, even within her human form, for her to immediately snarl and lash out at the sight of a holstered pistol, revealing herself and the rest of her friends in the process.

Yet it wasn't anger that drove Fang to do such things, it was simply that streak of protectiveness that made her leap out from the shelter and knock the stranger away, only for her to realize that there were so many more of them, far too numerous to fight off in such a state, a time when she was already tired from traveling. They were all forced into a swift retreat, even with the fears that came from the knowledge that their faces had all been seen, that their secret was out there on the wind, floating around in the minds of so many lycan hunters, utterly untouchable.

And there they were, those same sort of people who sought to end the affliction, those who believed it was a curse of the highest magnitude; there were those who had lost the people they loved to lycan attacks, hobbyists, or mere zealots to the cause. They were all as varied as lycanthropes themselves, if only much more unguarded about their true nature.

There were the forums dedicated to sharing trophies, much like the one Vanille had stumbled upon, or the subgroup within that very same forum who spoke out so feverishly against such things, that the curse was still lurking there in the physical object, that it must be obliterated to truly be rid of the affliction. There were those who spoke about the lycans who chose to spread the curse willingly, something that Vanille knew was rather true, no matter how much it pained her to admit, and there were even forums dedicated to the trading of lycanthropic identities, those little snapshots of hidden faces in the crowd, teeth that grew far too long to be human, wary eyes that lurked there in dark corners of the world.

Vanille kept reading over the postings of the site, pondering over the sharp bouts of anger that some of the hunters expressed, mostly about the open trades; they said that such things would only lead to conflicts over quarry, or that it would even warn the hunted that they were known targets, but Vanille was far more focused on searching to see if there were any faces in there that she knew.

In the past, Fang had once spoken about the dangers of being near places accessible to humans, no matter how convenient they might seem. There would always be the chance of watchful eyes, of things that they just couldn't anticipate; a change itself might have happened quickly, the swift transition from human to beast, but even the fastest of changes could still be witnessed and acted upon.

Vanille remembered a certain night, a night when their motley little group stumbled into an old tunnel in the ground, somewhere dark and abandoned, quite lonely and safe, and it was actually a bit cozy there, at least where the metal gave way to softer earth. There was a small alcove made of dirt, and Vanille remembered how it almost looked as if Fang became different person entirely; she had relaxed to the point of going limp, of laying there beneath the earth and letting her mind just wander away, no longer so watchful or tense. Vanille herself soon wandered over to rest beside her, listening to the gentle rhythm of Fang's steady breaths, to the sheer relief of being somewhere that no one but her own kind could see, somewhere so safe, dark and peaceful. Even Lightning began to show the same signs, the relaxation in every muscle of her limbs, tumbling down into a swift sort of slumber, where she merely curled up against the soft, dusty earth and slept her worries away.

But Serah hadn't quite done the same. She still had energy left from the day itself, for she had hardly ever been one to tense up or panic, at least when Lightning was near, and Serah soon wandered out from the dusty little alcove, to which Vanille followed after her immediately. It was the most important rule that their companions spoke of; Fang and Lightning both insisted that they should always venture out in pairs for the safety of doing so.

Serah stood there in her human form, so lanky and thin, nearly malnourished from living off of scraps or whatever animals they could hunt, but Vanille saw the fire in her eyes when a wild mouse suddenly scurried out from beneath a pile of garbage in the tunnel, yet neither of them gave chase.

"Serah..?" Vanille still remembered the way that her own voice sounded within the walls of the underground space, the echoes that bounced back and forth against the tunnel. "We shouldn't go too far, should we?"

"I don't smell anyone else here." Serah's nose twitched slightly, though it was still entirely human. "We could go and look for something useful... That would make Lightning happy, wouldn't it?"

Vanille glanced around at the piles of refuse and soggy cardboard, and she remembered the sullen frown that began to cross her face. "Useful..?"

And it was fast, nearly faster than Vanille could've seen, the simple flash of fabric and a sound that could only be described as twisting muscle and bone, of short fur growing from the pores of her skin, before Serah nudged her clothes back near the alcove, and then moved off into the tunnel within the form of a wolf.

Vanille remembered following suit, and she remembered the feeling of her paws touching down against the dirt, the cold air in her nose that smelled so much clearer than before, scents that didn't quite smell 'bad', in a sense, in the way that canines could sniff almost any unpleasant scent and not even be bothered. Exceptions came in the form of various repellents, of chemical scents and natural defense mechanisms, the air of poisonous mushrooms, for example, or the spray of a skunk, but the smell of the tunnels had nothing of such caliber to speak of, only the numerous mice and the occasional opossum, which Serah soon started to chase.

They were such nasty little beasts, creatures with needlepoint teeth and a deep, hissing growl, but they were no match for the desperate bite of a wolf, a creature who had lived on a hollow stomach for days on end, enough to tolerate even the stringiest, greasiest of foods, the gamy sort of taste that came from an omnivorous diet. It wasn't quite as awful as that of a carnivore, a fox or a mink, perhaps, yet not nearly as tasty as a rabbit or a deer. The taste of _deer_ , that memory itself made Vanille's mouth water, a rare meal that only occurred whenever Lightning and Fang felt safe enough to fully devote themselves to a hunt, to guide all four of them a state of into utter concentration, into the rhythm of the chase, into the snapping of bone and torn flesh, of teeth sinking down, down, _down_ into the flesh of the prey.

It was on the very same night that Vanille and Serah ventured out in search of such things, sated slightly by their fight with the opossums, yet craving something that they hadn't had in months, not since the snowfall was deep enough to easily tire out a wandering deer. It was on that night, that dark, quiet night when the two of them caught the scent of something unusual in the distance, in the forest beside a little town that they had since moved on from, a place that looked much too unwelcoming for the likes of such vagabonds.

The scent was tinged with the sharp pheromones of fear, the scent of reddened flesh that had been burned by the tight knots of a rope, the human body that called out in pain when it was struck yet again, maimed with the blunt end of a hunting rifle.

And Vanille knew, even then, that anything they did to approach the tiny clearing would be as good as suicide. There had been at least a dozen shouting townsfolk, all with weapons and firearms, so very pungent with the scent of rage. She could see no police or law enforcement to speak of, the town was likely too isolated for them to react quickly; it was a group judgment, a _punishment_ , simple as that. The two of them remained hidden there in the woods, all while a story was soon told from each of the echoing cries and the shouting, the bitter tale of a lycan who had gone so mad with jealousy, envious of the one he loved, and he had torn apart a fellow human.

There was another rule that both Lightning and Fang imposed upon each of them, a statement that said they were never to attack any of their own kind, including humans, at least out of anything other than self-defense. Vanille still felt her heart twinge at that sudden howl, the rapid changing of a beast, and then the single, deafening gunshot that was followed by such utter silence, but she knew the matter was far out of her own hands. That one had killed another, he had gone far beyond the forgiveness of his own people, and even if their judgment was incredibly harsh, the crime itself was hardly any better.

They still returned with heavier hearts than before, much too weary to hunt for any prey, and Vanille remembered the way she'd slumped herself down against the floor of the cave, two wolves between a pair of human forms, a family in the darkness, seeking the comforting peace of isolation.

Yet not long after they returned, Lightning woke to the sight of a rather gloomy Vanille, to which she reached over to stroke the fur behind her pointy ears, soothing away the worries of a restless wolf.

"...We didn't find any deer." Vanille's voice scarcely left her mouth, drifting out between the sharp fangs that lingered with the taste of blood. "But there were opossums."

"Hm. I can't imagine that tasted good." Lightning's eyes looked so very pale within the darkness, so soft and blue. "I'll go out with Fang later and find us something else."

Vanille's ears slowly drooped against her head. "There was someone out there, someone like us... They killed him."

Lightning almost seemed to pause, to think the situation over in her head. "Did they see you?"

Vanille shook her head, and she closed her eyes for a while.

"We'll move away from here soon." Lightning slowly settled back down against the dirt, even though it made her shirt and pants rather dusty. "Somewhere better."

Vanille opened her eyes again, and she quietly snuffled at the floor of the shallow cave, before she moved to set her chin down against one of Lightning's shoulders. "Somewhere better?"

Lightning's eyes were shut, but she'd smiled, despite it. "Yeah, somewhere a lot nicer than here... Somewhere safer."

Vanille remembered trying not to whine, not to worry over whether or not Lightning was just telling her that kind of thing to make her feel better, but a gentle tap on the snout made her force herself to relax, to let Lightning stroke both of her shoulders and calm down.

"I mean it, Vanille." Lightning knew the form of a wolf quite well, knew of the powerful shoulder-blades that could carry themselves so far, of the dark orange fur that almost looked more like the pelt of a fox than any larger canine. "There's somewhere safe out there, and we'll be the ones to find it."

And the words followed after her, even into the silence of the apartment, to the cozy sensation she felt with the blanket all around herself, sitting there in Lightning's room, beside the computer, a place largely unthreatened by those who wished them dead. She could see the fog on the windowsill, the glass that kept them safe from the world beyond, and Vanille slowly reached over to turn the computer off.

They would all be back soon, Vanille hoped; Serah usually returned about hour or two before Lightning did, depending on the traffic. Vanille would wait, she would wait there in that little apartment, wondering if such a place was truly what Lightning once had in mind.

* * *

"Light."

Lightning didn't pause, still pushing a rather large bin of crates across the warehouse.

"Lightning." Fang moved up into her field of vision, walking along beside her. "Listen for a minute, would you?"

Lightning gave Fang a quick glance, but she didn't stop moving. "I'm listening."

"Light..." Fang tried not to sigh, and she waited for Lightning to roll the bin into place. "Light, just listen."

Lightning turned to face Fang, just to see what she was going on about, yet that sudden look in her eyes, it was almost enough to hurt. "What is it?"

Fang lowered her voice to a murmur. "You... _Need_ to slow down." She glanced at the sweat on Lightning's forehead and neck, at the sheer strain in her gaze, the exhaustion of almost an entire week. "They pay you by the hour, right?"

"Right..." Lightning took a moment to wipe off her brow with the edge of her wrist. "And you get bonuses for noticeable extra effort."

At that, Fang tried her best not to sigh in exasperation, so instead, she slowly reached out to touch both of Lightning's shoulders. "How much do you earn in a normal day?"

Ever so slightly, Lightning narrowed her eyes. "A thousand and five hundred gil."

Fang drew in a very deep breath. "And if you work yourself to the point of collapsing?"

Lightning shook her head. "It doesn't-"

"Extra effort, then." Fang gently squeezed Lightning's shoulders. "How much extra money do you earn?"

Lightning looked away for a moment, almost to evade Fang's gaze. "Up to two thousand gil."

Fang nodded to herself. "So, normal effort, a thousand five hundred... Double that, and it's three thousand, more than extra effort."

Lightning glanced back at Fang, staring at the sheer amount of concern in her eyes. "And imagine how much we'd both earn with extra."

Fang almost smiled at the sly tone in Lightning's voice, but they both still looked rather steadfast, two stubborn hands tugging at either end of a rope. "Imagine not getting home and falling asleep on the couch right away."

Lightning tried not to grit her teeth together, but she felt them sharpening, regardless. "...It's not 'right away'."

"Around six at night... Just around a half hour after we get back." Fang lowered her voice again. "Come on, Light... Three _thousand_ , that's more than enough for bills and basic expenses, isn't it?" She reached up to gently tilt Lightning's chin, coaxing her to meet her gaze again. "You could even take this Saturday off, couldn't you?"

Lightning tried not to let any visible signals slip, any signs that she might actually be considering what Fang proposed, but the warmth in those eyes, that tenderness, the look of equal strength, it was just enough to make her start to soften, even if it was ever so slightly. "I'd have to speak with the boss."

"You'll be able to pretty soon." Fang gestured towards the entrance of the warehouse, at the pale tones of the setting sun. "Nearly time to go."

"I suppose it is..." Lightning slowly moved away, walking back to where the rest of the cargo bins were waiting. "Come on, Fang."

And Fang followed on, moving along with the loyalty she'd built up by so many years of cohabitation, from traveling the land in search of a greater place, from following Lightning to the very ends of Cocoon and back, with the cooperation that only came by such utter trust and fondness. There would be time for coaxing her yet again, for trying to ease the burden of so many days of work, hours upon hours, but in that moment, at least for a little while, Fang knew it was simply enough that Lightning was willing to try.

* * *

Serah could see the leaves starting to turn color from beyond the glass, from the front windowsills of the community college. It was the very place where she was sitting upon a small wooden bench, waiting for one of the city buses to make an appearance outside.

The main halls were silent and still, all except for the occasional movement of a student or faculty member, yet they were often just as quiet as Serah was, merely resting there against the bench. She could see the front lawn of the college, the flowerbeds tended to by groundskeepers and those who studied plant life, but aside from a lone figure near the front sidewalk, there was hardly anyone else to be seen. And it was that same one, the one with the scent of a lycan, the man who sat on the grass beside the sidewalk with a thin plume of smoke rising up from beside his scruffy chin.

Serah knew not to question it, nor to think badly upon the vices of those who'd had to endure the emotional hardship of such an affliction, but when she found herself wandering out the doorway and down the front path of the college, close enough to catch more than a mere trace of the scent, she knew in only an instant that it wasn't tobacco.

"Are-" Serah scolded herself for sounding so timid. "Are you alright?"

The tall one, the other lycan, he looked up at her from beside the sidewalk. "Hm? Oh, yeah... I'm good." He held out a gloved hand, the one without the cigarette that held such pungent herbs. "Snow Villiers."

Serah tried to smile at him, and she quickly accepted the handshake with a nod. "Serah... Serah Farron."

"Real nice to see someone like you around here." Snow glanced back at the long, lonely streets, before he drew in a slow breath of the medicinal herbs. "I'm, uh... Not really a regular with stuff like this, just helps with the stress, you know?"

Serah nodded, slowly sitting down beside the sidewalk as well. "I've heard it does." She looked down at the blue scarf that was tied around Snow's belt, before she looked away, towards the crosswalk that stood near the middle of the road. "Have you felt... Stressed out a lot? I hoped the notes might help."

Snow suddenly smiled, nodding at her. "Yeah, that was pretty great; I just haven't gotten the newest ones, you know?" He stretched his legs out, resting the heels of his shoes against the sidewalk. "If they change every single year... They're just gouging you, at that point."

Serah smiled back at him. "I told my sister the same thing, she didn't want me to use last year's books, though... Even if they were cheaper."

Snow nodded at nothing in particular. "Does she go here, too?"

Serah paused, before she tried her best not to frown. "No. She's been pretty busy at work."

Snow took another breath of the herbal smoke. "Man, don't I know it... Hard enough keeping up with last year, just a few more months until I've gotta skip out again." He leaned back slightly, and the ring of keys on his belt jingled with the motion. "You wouldn't believe how many people don't get their winter tires on there before the _winter_ actually hits... You wouldn't know it, but it's an even crazier season than the summer biker craze." Snow reached up to adjust the dark bandanna above his sandy hair. "Auto shops, you know? Can't say I don't love the work, but a _college_ degree... Heck, I could open up my own place with that."

Serah smiled a bit. "Mechanics?"

Snow grinned as well, and he nodded. "You know it."

"I've never been able to wrap my mind around an engine." Serah reached up to let her backpack slip down from one of her shoulders. "I mean, I can understand the general idea... But it's almost like a living being at some levels, like a body itself."

"Heart with wheels, gas for blood?" Snow peered out over the city streets, off towards the more industrial buildings, far from the lush grounds of the college. "I could teach you the basics sometime, if you wanted."

Serah smiled again. "I don't think I'd ever really need to know about a car, but thank you."

"Nearly forgot..." Snow winked at her. "Too fast for the road, huh?"

Serah tried to stifle a small laugh. "Hey, don't say things like that."

"Nobody's here." Snow held his arms out to gesture at the college grounds. "They're all home for the day... Nobody out to bother a couple of werewolves."

Serah gave him a rather crooked smile for such a phrase. "Lycans."

"Eh, everyone I know calls them werewolves." Snow tapped one of his shoes against the sidewalk. "Lycans... It just doesn't mean the same thing, not at first glance."

Serah looked up at the leaves of the tall birch trees, the ones that stood all around the grounds. "You don't know anyone who calls them lycans?"

Snow shook his head. "I don't really... 'Know' anyone else, not like me."

Serah nearly frowned. "Wait, you..?" She kept silent for a brief, yet lingering while. "Your parents, they aren't-?"

Snow shrugged. "Never met 'em... But I got it when I was pretty young."

Serah felt her blood run cold, and she suddenly looked away.

"Hey... What's up?" Snow sniffed silently at the air, searching for any hint of danger that Serah might have detected. "Something wrong?"

Serah felt a sharp twinge of guilt for suddenly lying right through her teeth. "No, nothing's wrong."

"Oh." Snow looked back down at the cigarette in his hand, the herbs he hadn't inhaled for at least a few moments, by then, and for some reason, a reason he didn't quite yet understand, he had no real urge to return to them. "You're waiting for the bus?"

Serah nodded, yet she still wouldn't meet Snow's gaze.

"I've got a friend picking me up today." Snow didn't even react when the tiny spark of heat on the cigarette began to die out, making the thin smoke fade away beneath the chilly autumn winds. "...You sure you're alright?"

Serah knew it was another lie to assure him that everything was just fine, that there wasn't such a stigma against his kind, not just a lycanthrope, but a _bitten_ lycanthrope, notorious for their rash impulses and utter lack of emotional control, the very fact of which, if her sister was to find out that he was within the nearby area... Yet he wasn't wild, it seemed, far from it, just slightly rough, perhaps a little bit brash, but he seemed to know well of the dangers of stress, enough to turn to outside aid, a medicinal herb known for great relaxation in small doses.

And Serah knew by the scent itself that the plant was a rather weak variety, not nearly enough to get the user more than a little buzzed, and with the way that Snow almost seemed to have forgotten it, it wasn't as if addiction was a problem, yet his very presence at the college, if Lightning was ever to know...

The city bus rumbled on down from along an adjacent street, and it soon found itself approaching the front sidewalk of the college grounds, and Serah slowly began to pick up her backpack again.

"It was nice talking to you." Snow smiled at her, and he began to gesture out a small wave with just a slight twitch of his fingers. "And hey, thanks again for those notes, I mean it... You might've just saved me from repeating that class."

Serah paused, and she glanced back down at Snow, before she stepped up to swipe her bus pass into the terminal. She quickly took a seat nearest towards where Snow was sitting, and she waved back with the least wary look she could muster.

Snow smiled yet again, even when his herbal cigarette finally died out all the way, while he kept gazing up at the foggy window of the bus. _Why_ then, when all of signs pointed to mistrust, to such dangers within one who hadn't been born with his affliction, a human who had undergone the change from man to beast, why did Serah feel so comfortable with smiling back at him?

Snow watched the bus as it started to rumble away, and he felt the heat from the engine, the vibrations of that mighty vehicle, before he lost sight of her, his new acquaintance out of their mutual afflictions. Had he said something to make her feel uncomfortable? Snow glanced down at himself, scruffy and unkempt as ever, a man who looked right out of the auto shop, and he almost wanted to curse out loud at his appearance. But she hadn't really mentioned it, had she? And she had approached him first, after all.

With the herbal scent forgotten, a mind clear with the intent to better himself, and perhaps make a friend in the process, Snow reached for his own shoulder bag, before he took out the stack of copied notes. Serah, that was her name, the one who'd been kind enough to bend the rules to try and help him, just a stray lycan, one she had taken pity upon... Snow closed his eyes, and he drew in a deep breath of the cold autumn air, before he exhaled it in a silent sigh. Had that been the reason why her presence felt so relaxing?

And there, resting against the seat of the bus, Serah let her mind wander to the possibilities, the chance that there might be a new friend out there for the making. Would he truly be as wild as such a reputation claimed? As beasts with such little inhibition, a creature without the true senses of a natural wolf, of a beast who kept to the shadows, hid itself away, only to attack when forced into no other option; the difference between being born as a lycan and being bitten by one, it was no matter to be taken lightly. A lycan who'd learned all their lives from their parents to never bite anything without a good reason, to keep themselves within their human form, raised from a young age with the mindset of both worlds, the hearts of human and beast, sapiens and wolves, they were naturally more docile and wary, not often prone to attacking unless they truly felt threatened.

Serah herself was perhaps the epitome of such things, so calm and patient, only ever fearful if her family was gone for too long or if danger was apparent. She knew from how much trust Lightning gave her that such traits were quite valuable, an asset, a member of their family who was taken just as seriously as any other, often enough to trust her judgment on even greater things.

But Lightning, Serah thought, she was not one to back down from anything, not when she felt threatened, for when those teeth bore themselves at a possible danger, there was simply no talking her out from it, not unless Fang herself was willing to drag her away to calm down. Perhaps it was quite fortunate, Serah realized, that such a presence had returned to their lives, the only real counterweight to Lightning's more stubborn, harsher streak...

* * *

Fang peered out over the bustling city street. "When does the next one get here?"

Lightning was sitting on the bench, resting there with her purse on her lap, barely even containing her annoyance. "A half hour."

"Then we've got some time to kill..." Fang fought back a small flicker of guilt; it was her fault, after all, that they'd missed the bus in the first place. A discussion with Lightning's employer, back in the office, it had taken far longer than either of them expected. "Come on, Light, we don't have to sit here and sulk."

Lightning merely shrugged, gazing in the opposite direction from Fang.

"Hey." Fang moved to crouch there with one knee against the bench, still standing halfway upright. "It went well, didn't it? And you'll be earning way more than you ever did-"

"That's not it." Lightning still refused to meet Fang's gaze. "You... You just drop in here, and you double the output, for what?" Her fingertips tightened against the strap of her purse. "You drop in here like... Long lost family, but that isn't how things work, is it? People don't just give you their earnings for your own bank account..."

Fang moved to sit further upon the bench. "Yeah they do."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at all of the passing cars in the street. "On what planet does that make sense?"

"A planet with people who love each other." Fang watched the sudden flicker of apprehension within Lightning's gaze. "Is it really so hard to understand? We came here back for you and Serah, and if the two of you don't want to leave... Then we're going to do whatever the hell we can to help you." She leaned in slightly, just enough to murmur her next few words. "We've never had a name for ourselves, I know that just as much as you do... But you can still see it, right?" Fang leaned against the bench, resting her weight by her shoulder. "You can see what we are, can't you?"

Lightning started to grit her teeth to stop herself from fidgeting. "I see it."

"And what would you call something like that?" Fang watched the small, flickering pulse on the curve of Lightning's throat. "A partnership, like that... I've never seen you as a sister, Light."

Lightning almost forced out a laugh. "I'd be pretty damn concerned if you did."

Fang smiled, a warm sort of grin that made her eyes gleam with mirth. "It makes sense, we were older, looking after both of the kids... A parental role, wasn't it?" She reached over to offer one of her hands towards Lightning, slightly curling her fingertips. "Even now, nothing's really changed; we're still looking after them, like always."

Lightning soon accepted the gesture, holding on to Fang's hand, before she allowed herself to be guided up from the bench, away from the immediate area of the bus stop. "Surrogates... But they're older, now."

"Yeah, Serah's really grown into herself." Fang began to lead Lightning forward, off across the sidewalk and towards a nearby crossing station, where they made their way on towards the tiny shops and storefronts. "She's really grown into her teeth, I mean... Not so timid anymore."

Lightning felt a slight swell of pride inside her heart. "She was never timid around you."

"When you weren't there, she was." Fang shrugged ever so slightly, before she glanced back over her shoulder. "I understood it, though; I was still sort of a stranger to her, a big, _mean_ stranger who didn't let either of them stay up past their bedtime..."

Lightning held back a tiny smile. "But I was the same."

"But she knew you." Fang looked around at all of the colorful shops and restaurants, and her gaze quickly caught upon the sight of a cozy little cafe, one that held the scent of freshly baked goods. "She knew you as a sister, and maybe I was something similar, but not the same." Fang took in a deep breath of the warm, sweet scents, before she made her way over towards the outdoor dining area. "It was different with Vanille... She was so _young_ when they locked her up, Light, barely even older than a baby, really." She glanced back at Lightning out of the corner of her gaze. "I made sure to keep reminding her that I wasn't her mom or anything."

"That's good of you." Lightning almost paused at the way Fang seemed to be leading them both towards the little cafe, but she quickly supposed that it was only to take advantage of a warm place to rest, not to purchase a meal. "Has she said anything about her parents? I remember, she used to..."

Fang tried not to frown. "The nightmares didn't come back for a long while, but once she got used to Gran Pulse..." Fang shook her head, and she moved to push open the front door of the cafe. "She'd cry in her sleep, just like before, only she'd remember it once she woke up."

Lightning felt a sharp pang of sorrow within her chest.

"Always about the two of you." Fang led the way towards a table without anyone else nearby, a quiet little place near the front windows. "And I won't lie, there were more nights that I dreamed about it than otherwise."

Lightning moved to sit down upon one of the chairs, and she waited for Fang to sit down as well, but it seemed as if she had something else in mind.

"I'll be right back." Fang reached out to squeeze one of Lightning's shoulders. "Just hang tight."

Lightning watched while Fang walked off towards the ordering counter of the bakery. "You'd better not be buying us dinner..." But it seemed as if Fang was out of earshot, so Lightning tried her best to force herself to relax, juts to look out from the window for a while, to gaze up at the first few hues of the changing leaves.

Autumn was still only starting, just a sharp chill in the air and a tinge to the city's flora, the first yellows and bright reds of the leaves. Lightning could feel the temperature changing in the way she needed a few extra blankets at night, even the first snap of air within her breath, when the wind blew much too strong for her to catch.

Fang and Vanille returned with the changing seasons, and it seemed as if they themselves were a source of change. There was a certain sense that Lightning used to feel whenever Fang would settle down beside her, a watchful presence, one that kept a very keen eye on the world around them. The winter meant very fruitful hunting, good snowfall for running around in and chasing down deer, or even elk, if they were lucky. The eventual spring meant a much more meager time, unless they could hunt down the more spry animals that had since survived the chill; rabbits were quite sought after in that time, for they lived underground and could be cornered and dug out from the earth, and the older ones were more than easy to sneak up on and catch, but to four hungry lycans, such small amounts of meat were almost trivial at best.

Wolves, a species known to be primarily carnivores, yet their diets could easily be supplemented by fruits and vegetables, by wild apples and pears, even berries and certain flowers. It was just as well, for their human side was always linked by both body and mind, the other half of the equation, and it required a much more varied diet, foods of all different types and various nutrients. Salt, for example, usually acquired by the blood of an herbivore, and for wolves, it was enough, but their human side would often crave the greater supplements of a more processed sort of food. Things like crackers or small biscuits, things that were were dry enough to keep fresh for months and were easy to carry around, just salty enough to silence that inner voice that called out for a more varied diet, yet not enough to calm the craving for sweets. They often had access to wild fruits, or even untended farmland if their hunger grew too great to endure, but the allure of human society was often at the hands of simple sugars.

Perhaps that was why Fang suddenly appeared with a small plate of something that caught Lightning's attention within mere seconds, along with two glasses of something that smelled so very warm, something sweet and spicy, something that Fang had to know was too great a thing to resist.

"I missed places like this." Fang sat down on her chair, gazing at the look in Lightning's eyes. "Those cupcakes got me thinking."

Lightning peered at the twin glasses of such dark mulled cider, rich with the scents of apples and cloves, of nutmeg and a rich brown sugar.

"A lot of Gran Pulse is tropical, so you do get fruit, but the place we were in for most of the time... It was almost always mountainous." Fang reached out to pick up one of the glasses, and she took a slow, cautious sip, for the liquid was still nearly steaming hot. "Good for elk, sure, but not sweets."

Lightning peered at the pair of cookies that awaited upon the small plate, patterned shapes that looked like autumn leaves, with cinnamon and a bright layer of red frosting on the top.

"Light?" Fang leaned forward ever so slightly. "Have a cookie, Light... Relax a little."

After a brief moment of silence, Lightning reached out to take one, before she took a very small bite.

"That's it." Fang slowly leaned back against her chair. "I missed the hell out of you guys, you know..? It hurts seeing you so wound up."

"It just feels too strange sometimes." Lightning took another tiny bite. "Like the two of you dropped out of the sky, or something... I didn't think we'd ever be living together like this again."

"Like we used to?" Fang reached for her own cookie. "Families don't stop caring about each other, Light, even if they've got to split up for a while." She moved to stir her cider with a small plastic stick. "I'd still be friendly to my parents if I ever saw them again, you know."

Lightning shook her head. "That's different, you're blood related."

"Yeah, but the two of them aren't." Fang sipped at her cider again. "That's the real point of it, Light... Parents aren't related, a _family_ , it isn't even related by blood, not at that level." She took a moment to examine the expression on Lightning's face, the subtle shift of both apprehension and slight curiosity. "I'm not saying that I want to... You know, if you're not comfortable with it, or anything... I'm saying this all wrong." Fang leaned forward again, resting her forearms against the table. "We don't have to be anything more than you want us to be, but I do feel something for you, Light... It hasn't changed since we left off, and if you want me, I'm right here." She slowly leaned away, taking another bite of her cookie. "I don't want you to feel obligated, that choice is yours to make... But you _are_ important to me."

Lightning lowered her voice down to a soft murmur. "We did have fun."

"We did." Fang smiled again, warm and calm. "...And if you want to have fun again, you know where to find me."

* * *

Perhaps it was the time spent waiting within that little cafe for a bus to arrive again, or perhaps it was the nipping chill in the air, the cold winds blowing in from far beyond the harbor, yet for whatever reason, when Lightning found herself cuddled up at Fang's side, resting there against her shoulder, it almost felt fitting, in a sense. Something had merely clicked into place, despite the worries she'd constructed from the changes in her life, the wariness of the unknown, the deep, dark fear that Fang might've changed as well, that there was someone else behind those soft green eyes, a new presence that only returned out of the mere memories of their shared past, searching for a person who didn't quite exist in the same way, not anymore.

Lightning knew that she herself had changed over the years, that she'd grown wiser, more steadfast in the place lived within, a whole different beast than before, yet when she looked back upon her own past self, it almost felt hard to tell what exactly had changed.

The mulled cider felt so warm in her belly, and the taste of cinnamon still lingered against her tongue. Lightning knew it was likely an intentional sensation, flavors that Fang had chosen to help her unwind from such a long day at work, even besides those new envelopes of money in their pockets, the funds that meant they could sustain their home for just a bit longer.

Fang glanced up when the sound of a bus echoed along the busy street, and she squeezed Lightning's hand when it approached, before they both began to stand up and move out along the sidewalk.

"Ready to go home?" Lightning didn't miss the subtle flicker in Fang's gaze at the word 'home'. "Serah's going to start calling me if we don't get back there soon... She worries, you know."

"She's just looking out for you." Fang stepped up to the bus, before she took out a couple of coins from her pocket. "Being a good sister."

Lightning felt herself smile softly, and she soon moved up as well to swipe her bus pass through the terminal. "I think we can both be a little overbearing."

"Well, with the background we've got, Light..." Fang took a seat next to the window, and she almost hummed in contentment when Lightning moved to rest against her again, sitting side by side. "None of it really surprises me."

"I just hope she'll make some new friends soon." Lightning closed her eyes when the bus rumbled forward again. "Real friends... People she can really get to know."

Fang nodded, before she closed her eyes as well. "Let's hope for it."

* * *

Vanille's eyes seemed as if they had permanently widened at the sudden sight of Serah, of _Serah_ , who was always known to stick to the rules, to the more placid side of things, the young woman who had walked right into the apartment with the distinct scent of something less than legal, at least in most areas of society.

"Vanille, come on..." Serah rolled her eyes while she took her jacket off. "I wasn't _having_ any, okay? Just sitting next to someone."

Vanille's nose didn't stop twitching. "Lightning's gonna flip."

"No she won't." Serah took a brief moment to sniff at the fabric of her jacket. "Well... Okay, she might, just a little."

"Laundry." Vanille nodded in a rather factual way. "Shower."

Serah tried not to sigh. "She's still going to catch it."

"So?" Vanille walked over towards the living room couch. "She'll catch _less_ of it, and isn't that better than nothing?"

Serah just held onto her coat for a while, before she turned around to make her way towards the laundry room.

Vanille soon settled back down on the sofa, the place that had become her sleeping quarters for the past few days; it had started to gain a rather wide collection of blankets and fuzzy pelts, things she had kept from those days back in Gran Pulse. Elk hides made impeccable blankets, for they were soft and thick and durable, and with the proper treatment they could be far warmer than any woven fabric. It was for that reason that Fang had sought out the aid of a few small villages to help her clean and prepare the hides, some of which they were able to sell for a decent bit of money.

And it was upon that very same couch that Vanille listened to the sound of a washing machine being started up, and briefly after, the sounds of a shower, but it was later on, past a couple of television shows that she heard the sound she was looking for. And then the front door, Fang was rather quick to accept a hug, yet Lightning simply paused in the hallway, silently sniffing at the air.

"Oh, Serah said that she was just siting next to someone..." Vanille kept her voice down to a whisper. "It wasn't her, okay? I would've smelled it if it was."

Lightning almost seemed to think the situation over for a while, still standing there, a bit rigid and tense, before she began to slowly move again, walking off towards the coat rack.

"Well." Fang took a quick sniff of the air as well. "A new friend, eh?"

Lightning pulled off her coat and hung it up on a hanger. "A friend who will _not_ be seeing Serah anymore in the presence of illegal substances."

Vanille stood on her tiptoes to whisper beside Fang's ear. "Better than not at all, isn't it..?"

Fang merely smiled at that, before she moved to approach the living room, watching the way Lightning kept pacing around in search of the new foreign scent.

"It's okay, Light." Vanille tried not to frown, but she soon followed after Lightning. "Hey, Light? It's not really bad for you, you know..."

"It could get all of us in a lot of trouble." Lightning paused to narrow her eyes at the bathroom door. " _No_ more, I mean it..." She exhaled rather sharply, and then she turned away, moving off towards her own room. "Nothing that could get us in trouble... It's _not_ happening here."

Vanille frowned at the way that Lightning stalked right into her room and swiftly closed the door, likely to try and cool herself down from such a quick snap of anger, something that could lead to more unwanted side effects.

"Vanille, it's alright." Fang's footsteps echoed through the hall. "Just leave her be for a while, okay? She's just... She's got to deal with these things in her own way, you know?"

Vanille tried not to let herself look rather sullen, so she nodded, gazing down at her feet. "I know."

Fang soon moved to hold one of Vanille's shoulders, leading her away from the hallway, back towards the cozy little living room.

* * *

Long teeth glimmered in the low light, sharpening with the unfounded anger inside her heart, something so very irrational, she knew, but the wolf simply didn't think that way. It was a threat, plain and simple, something that human society often scorned, just like any other drug, any vice, anything that could be used irresponsibly.

It was enough to make her claws curl out in frustration, even if Lightning herself was known to enjoy a few bottles of alcohol from within the refrigerator. But they were _legal_ , she reasoned, they wouldn't see her or Serah questioned by the authorities for their names, for who they had once been, enough to track down the lines that led on back towards the past, just those young little children who shared the surname of a known lycan, one who had been publicly slain. _Her_ name, Lightning thought, her own name, it was the one on all of the current papers, all of the official documents, 'Lightning', herself, not the one child who once lived with her mother and father, not little Claire, not the name that could be used to prove her heritage as a lycan.

And the wolf, when it caught the scent of a threat, no matter how small, it simply moved out to face the situation, to try and fight off whatever could possibly be dangerous, even if there was nothing there she could attack.

The shift of bone and muscle happened so quickly, just enough for her to strip off her clothes and save them from annihilation, from the sudden snarling burst of white fur and pointed ears, of teeth and claws, of a tail that stood so rigidly in a show of power and dominance, and of a long, narrow snout that just couldn't stop itself from snarling, from scolding herself for it all. It was enough that she had to swiftly pace around on her hind limbs, breathing in ragged huffs of breath, before she let herself sink down to the floor and curl herself up, anything to stop the beast from taking hold, from moving out from beyond her room and searching even further for the threat. But there _was_ no threat, she told herself, there was only a faint scent, a scent that wouldn't truly harm them, not unless it was much stronger in intensity.

Lightning's ears went quite flat against her head, typical of sensing danger or the feeling of fear, yet her tail just kept thrashing itself back and forth, a warning sign, while her throat kept on rumbling with that deep, low growl.

Perhaps it was only minutes, or maybe half of an hour, but Lightning soon began to force herself to breathe in low, quiet pants, just to try and calm herself down. She could feel the blood rushing in her veins, the thoughts racing around in her head, the way her lips still curled into a snarl, at least until she caught the soft sound of a knock at the door.

Fang's voice echoed in from beyond. "Light?"

Lightning forced herself not to growl. "What?"

Fang likely kept silent for a moment because of that low, lupine rasp to Lightning's voice. "I'm coming in, okay?"

Lightning squeezed her eyes shut, and she curled her fingertips into fists, for as a fully fledged lycanthrope, she only had paws on her hind limbs.

Fang's voice grew clearer than before. "Light..."

Lightning tried not to grumble when she felt something suddenly touch between her ears, stroking at the top of her forehead, something that began to massage around that thick white fluff, the fur that covered her from head to toe.

"How long has it been?" Fang's voice was so much closer, so much quieter than before. "Since it happened all the way, I mean."

Lightning grit her teeth, before she let herself speak in a whisper. "Months, maybe."

Fang made a low whistling sound.

"Fang, I'm not-" Lightning almost shuddered when Fang stroked over each side of her face. "Not _mad_ , not really."

Fang kept massaging the slender curve of Lightning's jaw. "It's the wolf."

Lightning slowly opened her eyes again, gazing out in a hue of true gold, of that wild one, the beast that lurked inside her blood and genetic code, her other, fiercer half.

"Shh..." Fang leaned forward to press their foreheads together, skin against pale fluff, human against the tensing wolf. "Let her come back to me, you hear..? It's not time for you to be out yet."

Lightning tried not to snap at the sudden swell of pain, a forcible sort of feeling inside her chest and lungs, the way the curse fought against her to stay active, to keep searching around her home for the threat, yet the scent of a fellow lycan, one who kept breathing in such a gentle rhythm...

"That's it." Fang could feel the muscles shuddering beneath her touch, the fur that drifted away into nothingness, not even dust. "Just relax, Light."

It was the calm presence of her friend, the one the wolf inside knew to be trustworthy, it was the scent of her that coaxed it back into slumber again, to fade away and leave Lightning there in peace, and it was the touch upon her cheeks that made her lean forward again, still resting their foreheads together.

"There she is..." Fang repeated the phrase against the skin of Lightning's cheekbone. "It's alright... All this trouble for just a little weed, eh?"

Lightning felt the first few pangs of a snarl echo out within her chest.

"You said the place reeked of it, before." Fang reached out to touch both of Lightning's shoulders, gently pulling her to sit closer than before. "So... If anyone asks, the heaters made one of the walls start to smell again, but I really don't think anyone without a nose like ours will even catch it."

Lightning still spoke in a low, almost raspy tone. "I know, Fang."

Fang hugged Lightning even closer, cradling the slim body that only showed the smallest hints of an inner wolf, the pale white fur that had yet to recede. "It's not rational, is it?"

Lightning moved to press her forehead against Fang's cheek. "It's not."

They waited there for a while, speaking softly, holding each other close, all up until Lightning finally relaxed just as much as she could muster. Her limbs were all limp, and her chin was resting against Fang's shoulder, while her eyes were so soft and blue again, no longer such a fierce shade of gold.

"Light." Fang peered down over the slope of Lightning's back, before she forced herself to stifle a quiet chuckle. "Light... You're forgetting something."

Lightning slowly leaned back with a look of confusion.

"I've actually never seen this happen before." Fang's eyes were full of mirth. "Light... Just look at your butt."

Lightning craned her neck around to look down at herself, and though her state of undress didn't cause her to feel even the slightest bit bashful, the sight of something _there_ , the fact her spine didn't quite stop where it was supposed to...

Fang smirked to herself as Lightning suddenly lurched away and grabbed at the offending object, the long, fluffy tail that still remained there in a physical form.

"That is... Pretty damn adorable." Fang ignored the ensuing death glare, or even the slight flush on Lightning's face, the hue that only intensified when the tail refused to go away. "Maybe it just wants to wag at me before it leaves?"

Lightning tried so hard not to snarl at Fang, still trying her best to change herself back into a full human again. "It's not _supposed_ to be there..."

"Let me see it?" Fang rolled her eyes when Lightning finally did start to snarl at her. "Come on, I won't do anything weird."

Lightning took a moment or two just to concentrate upon herself, on the human body that possessed nothing like a tail, nothing even remotely resembling such a thing, yet she just couldn't seem to make it disappear.

"Hey." Fang stood up from the floor, and she sat down on the edge of Lightning's bed. "Come here and let me look at it."

Lightning glanced over at her bedroom door, praying that neither of their companions would choose that moment to intrude, before she slowly stood up as well.

"Alright..." Fang waited for Lightning to sit down. "Just try to relax again."

Lightning closed her eyes, and she began to breathe deep, slowly attempting to make herself calm down again, but when she felt a soft, gentle touch between her shoulder-blades, she almost paused to open her eyes.

"It's okay." Fang stroked her hand up and down over Lightning's back. "Just do the usual thing, think of yourself without lycan parts."

Lightning kept her eyes shut, and she nodded. "This hasn't happened before... Teeth or claws, maybe, but not this."

"It's not a big deal." Fang kept stroking Lightning's back, soothing away the rigid tension. "Just breathe deep."

Lightning inhaled a long, silent breath, and when she exhaled again, her tail slowly started to fade.

"That's it." Fang went very quiet when Lightning moved over to lean against her shoulder. "It's all gone, Light."

Lightning nodded without speaking.

"...I'll talk to Serah about the smell, okay?" Fang moved her arm to hug around Lightning's waist. "She doesn't seem the type for that kind of thing."

"I know." Lightning still kept her eyes shut, just resting there against Fang's shoulder. "And if it wasn't illegal in large amounts-"

"She still doesn't seem like it." Fang moved to rest the side of her head against Lightning's hair. "She's not a rule breaker, Light, unless it's for the right reasons."

Lightning slowly opened her eyes again. "I need a nap."

Fang looked down at where Lightning's clothes were all scattered around on both the bed and the floor, likely tossed there before the change had taken full hold. "Okay."

The search for more comfortable clothes took only moments, and Lightning swiftly dressed herself, before she moved over to lay down on her side, gazing up at where Fang was still sitting silently. There was still a bit of misty fog behind the window; Lightning's room was on the opposite side of the hall from the front entryway, which meant that she had a view of the back parking lot and the nearby woods. Fang almost seemed to be looking out beyond the windowpanes, far away from anything within the little apartment.

"...You're too good, Fang." Lightning traced her fingertips down against the hem of the bed sheets. "That's why I worry about this; what if all you're doing for us, what if it suddenly stopped? Where would we be then?"

Fang watched the light of the sunset as it moved across the distant trees, shifting with the flow of the cloudy sky. "Not much would change."

Lightning bit back a sharp retort. "...I wouldn't be able to take Saturday off."

"Light." Fang turned to look at the bed again. "You're overthinking this."

Lightning squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the very sight of Fang's face. "What else am I supposed to do? Just _one_ slip up, Fang, that's all it'll take..."

"Hey." Fang moved to sit a bit closer to where Lightning was resting. "You said it yourself, this is the safest place for us to be right now, at least in Cocoon." She waited until Lightning opened her eyes again. "We've played the odds before, and beaten them... Nobody dies on our watch."

Lightning looked off into the distance, and her voice became somewhat hoarse. "I get nightmares if I rest too much."

Fang's eyes widened slightly.

"I don't dream about it if I tire myself out." Lightning's fingertips tightened against the blankets. "I don't dream about what might happen... What might happen to her when I'm not there."

"Light." Fang moved forward again, sitting right beside her. "Serah's got a good mind for getting herself out of danger."

"It might not be enough." Lightning fought to keep her voice from breaking. "Mom never told either of us, you know... She never talked about what really happened."

Fang tried not to frown.

"They keep detailed records." Lightning took a very deep breath. "Proof of removal... The killing of an 'afflicted'." She started to grit her teeth, _sharp_ teeth, the fangs of a beast. "I had to look it up for myself... An anonymous coworker reported probable cause, and they _shot_ him in the back of the head on his way home from work."

Fang tried to speak, to find the right words to say, but her throat suddenly felt so empty and dry.

"He didn't even get to _fight_ it." Lightning's eyes flickered with that same bright shade of gold, so alive and fierce. "It didn't matter how strong he was, how careful he might have been... When it came down to it, he was dead no matter what he did."

"Light." Fang reached out to touch the curve of Lightning's face. "I get it, you know... The world doesn't want us here, but that doesn't mean we should just lay down and take it." She stroked her thumbs against the softness of Lightning's cheekbones, trying to soothe away that sharp golden hue from her eyes. "We can't just lay down and die... And we can't work ourselves into numbness, either."

Lightning tried to keep herself silent, and she reached out to hold one of Fang's hands.

"I'm here." Fang lowered her voice to a gentle murmur. "You're not alone now... And I'm gonna help keep us as safe as I can."

Lightning closed her eyes for a brief moment, and when she opened them, they were just as blue as before.

"There you are." Fang reached to pull one of the blankets up against Lightning's torso. "Take that nap now, okay..? You could use the rest."

Lightning still held Fang's hand in a rather firm grip, but she soon relented, relaxing herself beneath the blankets.

"I'll wake you up before dinner." Fang leaned back, and she stood up beside the edge of the bed. "Just get some sleep."

There was no verbal reply, and Fang soon walked away and eased the door shut behind her, leaving Lightning there to fall asleep. Perhaps it had been an real invitation, she thought, the way Lightning had gripped her hand so tightly, but there was little time for indulging such things, not when a certain younger sibling was just wandering out of her own room with a fresh set of clothing.

"Hey." Fang paused near the opposite side of the hallway. "Listen, Serah, I'm not going to give you a lecture on this, but-"

Serah tried not to flush, glancing pointedly away. "I was just sitting next to someone."

"I know..." Fang leaned one arm against the wall. "But you know what happens when Lightning worries, and we all need to do whatever we can not to have that happen." She looked back over her shoulder, towards the end of the hallway. "No more hanging out with stoners, okay? At least not when they've got the scent going."

Serah reached up to brush back a soft lock of her own hair, still rather damp from the shower. "He's not a stoner... He's the one like us; he just uses it for the stress."

Fang quirked an eyebrow at that. "And you believe him?"

Serah nodded. "Why would he lie to me about it? I wouldn't care if it was a regular thing..."

"He doesn't know that." Fang took a moment just to collect her thoughts, before she leaned away, walking further into the hall. "Either way, don't let this happen again, you hear?"

"I won't... Promise." Serah quietly followed after Fang, but she paused near the end of the hallway. "Where are you going?"

"I've been meaning to have a look around." Fang opened the front door without fully unlocking it. "I'll be back before dinner."

* * *

The wind blew over the land in strong gales, the sort of blustering breeze that made a soft echoing sound between the trees, brushing against the dark, thick fur of a certain wanderer. It had been simple enough to find a patch of tall grass to stash her clothing in, far from the scents of anyone who might happen across them. The field beside the apartment parking lot was rather unkempt and wild, full of wildflowers and thick grass, and it had been just enough cover for her to slip into a different form.

And so she ran, moving on within the forest as a beast, not a woman, a traveler of the woodland trails and perhaps the land that stood beyond them. It seemed to be a rather dense area at times, yet certain places were clear enough for her to see for quite a ways off, though such things weren't quite what she was looking for. An ideal shelter would be somewhere with easy access to both water and food, somewhere nice and dry, small and cozy enough to warm up with only the heat of one's body, and far enough out of sight from any wandering eyes, somewhere they could run to in the worst case scenario.

Fang knew that there was always the chance of danger, the will of mankind to see those with the curse driven to extinction. Her parents once spoke of the spirits of the land, the early beasts who walked as both men and wolves, and that only a few of them ever chose to remain that way. The rest had taken sides, either making villages and towns as tall humans, sapient and wise, or embraced their more bestial side and turned into wolves. Fang herself had always found the tale a little odd, for it didn't seem as if the 'curse' as some called it was anything more than a transmittable disease, yet she still kept the story close in her memory, even when she set off to travel on her own. She knew somehow, that it was natural, some base instinct that drove her to wander off in search of something greater than her own homeland, perhaps the urge to see all of the things that her parents once spoke about from their own travels.

But she knew at that point, that because of her new family, the lycans who she had grown to hold so close to her heart, that it was for their own sake that she was wandering off into the woods, sniffing around for places that smelled untouched and naturally sheltered. She could smell the distant trails of the wildlife preserve, the human scents that wove back and forth throughout the forest, and it did take quite some time to find an area that seemed absolutely unreachable, a deep, dark thicket that eventually gave way to a tiny creek.

Fang paused to drink her fill from the flowing water, and she could feel the sharp coldness of the liquid as it prickled down within her throat, almost to the point of numbing it. Autumn was drawing nearer and nearer, and if she was to find somewhere safe before the snow began to fall, she would need to spend a good amount of time digging it out before the ground was buried in deep white.

She traveled on near the riverside, the burbling creek that wound back and forth within the dense, shaded woods, and it was only when she caught sight of a wide wall of grassy earth, a natural embankment beside the water's edge, only then did she have the urge to lean in and dig.

The ground almost felt like clay beneath her paws, so thick and soft, yet malleable enough to stand up on its own, and she tucked her head down and swiftly doubled her pace. She could hear the soft whisper of the creek, the rustling of the long cattails beside the water, and once she had dug deep enough to mostly fit herself into the ground, she took a moment just to lay there and look out at the surrounding area.

Tall, mossy trees surrounded the little river, along with thick grass and waterborne plants, with vines that climbed up along the pines and the birch trees, which stood close enough together to block out a great deal of the sun. It was a dark patch of the forest, for sure, but little speckles of light still danced upon the surface of the water and the pebbly riverbanks, and it was just enough to make Fang sigh in contentment.

The area was as safe as she could possibly hope for, she knew that much, and the ground itself felt stable enough for her to dig even longer tunnels than she had first anticipated. They would run far beneath the earth, deep enough to shake off any pursuer, and she'd soon dig several other entrances to avoid being cornered, but those would have to wait. She had time, perhaps, to burrow down and make a single tunnel, though she'd already promised both of them to be back before dinner, and the process of finding such a place had already cut her time short. And the other implication, the way her hand had been held, the look in Lightning's eyes, undoubtedly asking Fang to stay and rest with her, even without words...

Fang sneezed at the dust in her nose, feeling the thick clods of earth beneath her paws, the dirt that stuck to her fur, and she almost wanted to scold herself for thinking of such things. Lightning wasn't one to cling to people, never very needy, but perhaps the initial chill had worn off between them, especially with the support of continued deposits to a certain bank account. It wasn't the money that concerned her, that was easy enough to give, and Fang knew that Lightning herself would see it as an investment for the both of them, no, it was more the fact that such a thing itself was _also_ an implication. What if Lightning wasn't truly at ease with her recent arrival? She seemed fine enough with Vanille, someone who was much more like Serah than anything else, but what if there was a possibility, just a fraction of a chance that Lightning was only putting up with Fang's presence as a courtesy?

She kept digging away at the hole, burrowing deeper and deeper into the earth. Perhaps it was true, and perhaps it wasn't, but either way, if Lightning wanted her to leave, she only needed to say so. And in terms of closeness, of nights spent laying awake and enjoying the presence of each other, not quite to the point of greater intimacy, but perhaps a brief kiss or two... Fang decided to leave the initiation up to Lightning. If there was even the smallest chance that Lightning's situation, that the instability was the source of her more 'friendly' gestures, then the only way for Fang to know if she was truly wanted was to wait.

And wait she did, resting there once she'd dug deep enough into the ground to call it a proper tunnel; the earth was strong, just as she had suspected, not prone to crumbling or collapsing down into chunks of dirt. Fang waited there for a while, watching how the forest grew darker and darker beneath the approaching sunset, before she slowly stood back up to her paws and started off.

She could feel the wind on her face, and she opened her mouth to taste it, letting her teeth gleam in the low light of the sunset. The form of a wolf granted her the ability to pant from her mouth and cool herself down, but the forest itself felt rather cold beneath the darkness, and she urged herself to move even faster, back towards her newfound home.

* * *

Within the warm light of the sunset, Lightning knelt down beside the little oven, gazing at the tray of chicken legs that were just starting to sizzle within the heat.

"So, uh..." Serah was standing near the counter, peeling the husks off of a few ears of corn. "I talked with someone after class, today."

Lightning tried to keep a bit of derision out of her voice. "I figured."

Serah fought back a tiny frown. "...I'm sorry."

Lightning kept very quiet for a while, and she soon stood back up beside the stove. "You didn't mean any harm."

"I still-" Serah paused, before she turned to face Lightning directly. "He's a lycan like us, Light; I just wanted to try and make a friend."

"I see." Lightning started to stir at a bubbling pot of sweet potatoes. "...Then let's just try not to make friends with him while he's toking up."

"Well, yeah..." Serah felt the tiniest glimmer of amusement pass between both of them. "He said it wasn't a regular thing, and it didn't sound like he had any reason to lie." She walked over to get a large steel pot out from one of the cabinets. "He seemed a little sad the other day... So I gave him a copy of my textbook lessons."

Lightning kept stirring at the sweet potatoes. "That was nice of you."

"He had a textbook from what looked like years ago." Serah placed the pot down within the kitchen sink, before she turned on the faucet to fill it up with water. "Maybe he just thought he could wing it with an outdated one? I mean, it sounds like he has a decent job... He could probably get a new one if he saved up."

"Not everyone has good sense with money." Lightning stopped stirring the potatoes to step away from the stove, letting Serah carry the other pot over towards the opposite side. "Serah, a lot of people you'll meet out there don't have the patience to save up... I always try and make sure that we have enough for what we need, and that's the reason we've been living on essentials."

"I don't mind living on essentials." Serah turned the dial on the stove, igniting the pale fire beneath that big pot of water. "We almost always used to live like that..."

Lightning fought back a look of concern. "I want to make a better life for you."

Serah smiled wryly, before she turned to stare Lightning in the eye. "You know this place is infinitely better than how things used to be."

Lightning almost frowned. "Serah-"

"You've done so much for us, Light." Serah moved to lean one of her arms against the countertop. "And we have our family back, now... You can afford to make your own life better, too."

Lightning tried not to let herself look defeated, like a wounded puppy or any such of thing, but she feared that the expression on her face would tell Serah more than she could ever say out loud.

"Please, do something _fun_ this weekend." Serah gave Lightning a rather pleading look. "No work, no painting, no repairs... Just do something for yourself, okay?"

Lightning tried to look away, just to focus on anything else in the room, but she found that she could only nod, swayed on by the fact that no matter how stoic she might seem, Serah was always the one to make her acknowledge that opposite side. It was what hid away the fear, the uncertainty, all of the sorrows of their past, the rare times when Lightning would show the side of herself that truly felt her emotions to the fullest. It was in the scattered tears she'd let fall whenever Serah became injured or sick, the sheer panic that raced on through her heart whenever something made a sound too close to them in the night. It was the more fragile side, the remnants of one who was once too weak to defend herself, much less her family, the young girl who had once followed after her mother, fleeing into the darkness of the night, never to return home again.

"It's not selfish of you, Light." Serah watched that turbulent flux of conflict in Lightning's eyes, the battle within her mind. "You deserve a rest."

Lightning squeezed her eyes shut, yet as much as she wanted to argue, she just couldn't find any more words to say.


	7. Chapter 7

A knock at the door drew Lightning's attention away from preparing dinner, and she made her way out from the kitchen towards the front hall. When she noticed that the chain lock wasn't latched, even though Serah had already explained Fang's previous departure, there was a moment of conflict in Lightning's heart, the subtle paranoia that seeped out into almost every action she took. What if there was the barrel of a gun waiting for her there beyond the doorway? But then she surely would've caught the scent of a stranger from beneath the gap in the door, and the longer she waited there, the more awkward it would make her seem, so Lightning simply moved to adjust the doorknob lock, before she opened it up to peer upon a familiar sight.

"Sorry, this took longer than I thought." Fang stood there with something unusual gripped in one of her hands, while the other hand looked rather stained with dirt. "Already started with dinner?"

Lightning nodded. "Started making it, yes... But it's not ready yet."

Fang smirked, and she held up a rather large handful of fungal growth, a ruffled sort of mushroom that was known as: ' _Grifola frondosa_ ' by scientific terms, but it had a much more common name among those who lived their lives as foragers. "Any room for this?"

Lightning tried to smile back at Fang, for the clump of edible mushrooms was indeed a rather generous gift, especially so late in the season. "Maybe tomorrow."

Fang sighed, but she still kept that soft little grin on her face. "Just what I get for staying out late..." She moved inside when Lightning stepped away. "But if we could find the proper stuff for soup, you know-"

"Believe me, it's tempting." Lightning's mind wandered back to those early days, to the times when they managed to find enough safety to cook their food, perhaps a place with room for a fire, even a bubbling pot of water to cook such similar mushrooms, seasoned with whatever spices they could find. "But we have corn and sweet potatoes going right now, so there's not much room for soup."

Fang sniffed at the air, following after Lightning. "Smells like chicken."

Lightning nodded. "Yeah, and not the one you're carrying... 'Hen of the woods', isn't it?"

Fang smiled. "Not to be confused with 'chicken of the woods'."

"What were those called?" Lightning stepped into the kitchen again. "'Sulfur shelves'? They sure don't smell like sulfur."

"It's just the color." Fang smiled at the sight of Serah. "So... Both of you, you're good?"

Serah nodded from where she was tending to a bowl of cooked sweet potatoes with an electric mixer. "Yeah, we're good." Her nose twitched at the scent of the mushrooms. "Oh... You went digging, did you?"

Fang smirked again. "They were hiding right there on the bottom of a tree, but the trick of it was... I had to dig my way under a nasty patch of thorn bushes just to get at it." She walked over to where she'd remembered seeing a few paper bags somewhere in one of the cupboards, and she picked one out to store away the huge mushroom clump. "These are pretty dusty."

"I can see that." Lightning glanced at the thin layer of dirt on Fang's hands. "Nothing you can't wash off."

Fang quickly stashed the mushrooms into the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator, before she looked back at Lightning, just to gaze at that calmer, almost amused demeanor that she held. It was so different from how Fang had left her, a far cry from such a clearly exhausted state, so very strained from the exertion necessary for a sudden change in forms, yet it almost seemed as if a simple nap had cured away such ills.

"Hey, Fang-" Serah glanced up from the blended potatoes. "Could you grab the milk and the butter from there?"

Fang did as Serah asked, before she carried them both over from the fridge. "I should probably wash up..."

Lightning had already moved back to check the contents of the oven. "Good idea."

Serah smiled at Fang. "Yeah, no use digging in the woods and then running right off to dinner..." She gently tapped Fang's forehead, scolding her in a rather teasing way. "Bad puppy."

Fang just rolled her eyes, and she handed over the milk and butter. "Woof."

Lightning rolled her eyes as well. "Neither of you are dogs."

Serah started to pour out a bit of the milk into the mashed sweet potatoes. "We can call each other puppies, can't we?"

Lightning glanced back at Serah. "Lycans aren't... We aren't _wolves_ , so I don't even know what to call it."

Fang walked over to wash her hands in the sink. "We're enough like wolves."

Lightning shrugged, before she knelt down again to open up the oven, and then she reached in to poke a small thermometer into one of the chicken legs. "These are almost done."

It wasn't long indeed, no more than around ten minutes passed by before the rest of the preparations were complete. The mashed sweet potatoes started to take on an even stronger smell, all due to a bit of butter and some thick maple syrup, which was more than enough to summon Vanille from wherever else she had been.

"Hey, you..." Fang reached over to slightly ruffle Vanille's hair. "Where've you been?"

Vanille tried to swat at Fang's hair as well, but she couldn't quite catch it or even reach it, not when Fang kept evading her. "Aw, come on!"

Fang leaned away with a tiny smirk on her lips. "Not until you're tall or sneaky enough, missy... Hair mussing is a privilege."

Vanille rolled her eyes. "That's not a real rule."

Fang gently tapped Vanille's forehead. "It is when you're the boss."

"And who made _you_ the boss?" Vanille tried to scowl, but she just ended up smiling as well, trying to reach for Fang's hair again. "I'm almost older than either of you were, back then..."

"Hmm." Fang leaned away from yet another ruffling attempt. "That's true... But Light and I, we've always been boss." She glanced over at where Lightning was draining out the pot of boiled corn cobs. "But it was fair, wasn't it?"

Lightning shrugged, reaching for a pair of metal tongs to start serving up the corn. "As long as the 'boss' is the one doing the work... The one getting dinner on the table."

"Right, right." Fang walked over to help get the plates prepared. "You guys remember that one place by the coast? The one we rented?"

Lightning started to think back to the summer job that she and Fang had once taken, just enough to make ends meet in order to rent out a small wooden shack near the sea. "I remember that one."

Fang glanced at both Vanille and Serah. "The two of you were young... It was the one with the TV, I'll bet you remember that much."

Vanille nodded and hopped in place. "We weren't _that_ young!"

Serah looked up from where she was dishing out the mashed sweet potatoes. "Yeah, I think I was ten..." She took a longer moment to think. "I was almost nine when we met, so that makes sense."

Lightning reached for the silverware drawer. "That was after that other town, wasn't it?" She tried to remember the name of such a place, yet it seemed to have slipped her mind. "Yeah, you were ten... I remember buying cupcakes for your eleventh birthday."

Vanille smiled at Serah. "That one was so much fun!" She moved over to help prepare the kitchen table, placing napkins before each chair, two of which had been recently taken out of storage. "Hey Fang, you've got a birthday coming up, don't you?"

Fang shrugged, before she carried over one of the plates. "I don't keep track."

"You really should..." Serah carried a few plates as well, all readied up with the chicken and vegetables. "Birthdays are always fun."

Fang looked back to see Lightning carrying the last plate towards the table.

"We could do something for it." Lightning soon settled down upon her chair. "There's a bakery on the way back home from work..."

Fang watched the three of them, all sitting there, and she felt a slight prickle of helplessness at the incredibly expectant looks on Vanille and Serah's faces. It had _always_ been like that, she remembered, for even her own birth date had been somewhat insistently coaxed out in those earlier years in order to celebrate it, even if Fang herself couldn't honestly say that she hadn't just picked the date at random, enough to make the questioning cease. They both meant well, she knew that much, but such celebrations always seemed more traditional to those of Cocoon, not to the natives of Gran Pulse, the wanderers of the natural world, relying upon the sun and the change of seasons in order to keep track of time. There were no celebrations for such insignificance, for a single day that meant nothing other than the beginning of herself. No, the days that they would celebrate came in the form of a long-awaited rainfall, the first green leaves of spring upon the mountainside, or even the discovery of a prime hunting ground, where her parents would often make use of whatever reserves they had left, the surplus of luxury goods, using them up in both deference and gratefulness to the spirits of the land. That was still only her parent's beliefs, however, not Fang's own, though she did remember feeling rather cheerful whenever such times came about.

"Fang?"

Fang drew herself back from her thoughts at the sound of Lightning's voice.

"Are you alright?" Lightning glanced at the single empty chair. "...Come sit with us."

Fang slowly moved over to settle down. "Sorry, just lost in thought."

Vanille spoke up in an almost chirping tone. "Thinking about what you want for a birthday present?"

"Ah, you wish." Fang reached over to spread a thin layer of butter over an ear of corn. "I told you before, Vanille... I don't do my own birthdays."

"But that's no fun!" Vanille paused from where she had been cutting up some of her chicken. "What do you always say whenever Lightning tries to weasel out of it?"

"That's different." Fang reached for a tiny container of table salt. "Light and Serah were born in Cocoon with those kinds of traditions, and so were _you_ , Vanille." She started to spread out a bit of salt on the corn, before she passed the shaker over to Serah. "I was born out in the mountains, in the _wild_... We just didn't celebrate them."

Serah salted her corn as well. "You don't like them, Fang?"

Fang tried to avoid both of their gazes. "No, it's fun... It just feels strange."

Lightning spoke up. "We don't have to celebrate it." She glanced back at Fang, and she suddenly felt a knowing sort of look pass between them, the same form of discomfort that occurred from being within the spotlight, perhaps more of an instinctual response than any personal one. "But I would like to get you something."

"That's fine." Fang forced herself to smile. "Just as long as you keep taking Saturdays off."

Serah perked up at the sound of that. "You spoke with your boss?"

Lightning tried not to roll her eyes, and she took a small bite of the mashed sweet potatoes before she spoke again. "Yes."

" _And..?_ " Serah leaned forward slightly. "You're taking it off, right? You can go and do something fun this weekend?"

Lightning felt her teeth tighten together, before she slowly started to nod.

Serah smiled and leaned back. "You know, Halloween is getting close."

Fang pulled at a bit of chicken meat with her teeth. "A few weeks away, isn't it?"

Serah nodded. "Maybe we could carve jack o' lanterns..."

Lightning knew very well of the tone of voice that Serah spoke in, the less-than-subtle suggestion that she should go out and buy a few pumpkins within the following weeks.

Vanille smiled at the thought of such things. "That'd be fun, but I was never good at making them look right..."

Fang glanced up from the piece of corn in her hands. "Only because you tried to make the designs too complicated."

Vanille shrugged. "But who wants a pumpkin with just a face on it?" She poked at the sweet potatoes on her plate. "Maybe I can find a real design somewhere..."

Lightning listened to the ensuing debate over the practicality and minimalist design choice of making a simpler carving versus the artistic endeavor that was Vanille's idea of the 'real' way to make a pumpkin lantern, but as the minutes passed by, Lightning found herself thinking of other things. It was the first time since Fang and Vanille had arrived that they all sat down together for a home-cooked meal, other than breakfasts, of course. Dinner was usually comprised of leftovers or whatever Serah could prepare by the time that Lightning returned home, or even cheap takeout from the local restaurants, but to finally have a meal where they were all sitting down, a _real_ family again... She felt something flutter inside herself at the thought of it.

Even though Fang's appearance on that first day, even though it had brought on the fear of possibly being attacked by pursuers, it seemed as if she had kept true to her word, for not a single scrap of danger had yet made itself known. And it was also true that such a formidable friend was quite useful to have around; Lightning remembered a time long ago when she herself hadn't detected a scent on their trail, for they were traveling in the wrong side of the wind, but Fang's instincts had kicked in at a certain sound in the distance, a natural noise, yet it was enough to lead her into detecting the danger in time. And the fact that Lightning's savings account was stacking up funds like it had never done before... The stress of making ends meet was slowly starting to wane. Perhaps they could even get more than just a few pumpkins to carve that year, and maybe even some different treats for themselves, along with the goodies for anyone who knocked at their door.

It was only after dinner was over, a time when one of the neighbor's music began to play, though much quieter than it usually sounded, only then did Lightning find herself sprawled out on the couch again, sipping at a bottle of hard lemonade.

"Vanille, don't leave your stuff out here." Fang was clearing away a few of Vanille's various souvenirs from the other side of the couch, the little trinkets that had accumulated over the years, presents and items that they'd both found in various places. "I just don't want to sit on anything and break it."

Vanille glanced up from where she was watching the television. "Sorry."

Lightning took a small sip of her drink, before she placed the bottle back down against the coffee table. "I've been thinking about the spare room."

Fang looked back at both Lightning and Vanille, for Serah had already gone off to her own room to work on a school assignment.

"After work, tomorrow-" Lightning waited for Vanille to meet her gaze. "Vanille... Do you like the spare room?"

Vanille nodded. "It's a little empty, but yeah."

Lightning closed her eyes for a long moment, thinking over her next few words. "I paid off the rent for the rest of the month." She let her mind wander over the list of expenses, the taxes, even the possible cost of bus passes for both of her newfound companions. "We're doing better now with Fang's help... If we can keep going like this-" Lightning paused, for when she opened her eyes again, she caught a certain look in Fang's gaze, something quite warm and affectionate. "Vanille, would you like the spare room?"

Vanille's eyes darted to the blankets on the couch, to her own purse that was resting on the coffee table beside her collection of trinkets, nearly the only physical possessions that she had ever owned.

"I know it's a small, but-" Lightning paused when it felt like the world had gone utterly silent, when she felt someone suddenly hug her, before she slowly moved to hug Vanille as well.

Vanille held Lightning tight, quite unsure of what to say, yet she hoped that the gesture itself would be enough.

"Should I take this as a 'yes'?" When the embrace was finally relented, Lightning leaned back to rest against the couch. "You know that you're like family to me... You shouldn't have to sleep on the sofa every night."

Vanille nodded, before she spoke much more quietly than before. "Light... It's just so strange." She sat down on the couch between Lightning and Fang. "I didn't think you would even have a _place_ here, you know? We always used to move around."

"I know." Lightning reached over to gently ruffle Vanille's hair. "...Welcome home."

* * *

Moonlight shone in from the glass of the window, and Lightning found herself sitting directly beneath it, resting on the arm chair beside her windowsill, all while she gently brushed out her hair. It was still damp from a brief shower, a far darker shade of pink, more like hue of a summer flower petal than the pale color it usually took.

She was all alone, left to herself in her own room, even if the mere thought of it made her want to approach the doorway again. Serah was likely already asleep, not a good time for conversation, and the sounds of the television had ceased at that hour of the night, not to mention the lapse from the din of her neighbor's music.

Lightning tilted her head to the side, just enough to see the back porch of the apartment in question, right next to her own room. It wasn't very often that whoever lived there stopped playing such loud sounds at an early hour of the night, yet it was a blessing that she wasn't about to question. Maybe there had just been enough noise complaints, enough to get the landlord involved...

It was the part of her that thought like a wolf that summoned a smirk, that brought such satisfied feelings into herself from the peacefulness of the night, so much that she slowly reached up to open her window, just to smell the unique scents of the autumn air. And that same part of her mind, it was swiftly swept up into the distant sounds of the leaves, of strong wind gusting in the heights of the forest, caught in the feeling of the cool air on her skin, enough to make it prickle with the first few hints of a pelt.

Her eyes were bright and golden, no longer a keen blue, no longer cold or even docile, the human that she so desperately tried to be. Her family needed such a person, needed a human who could keep that roof above their heads, keep the bills paid... But the wolf had no patience for such trivial things, for that method of thought; it knew exactly what it wanted, what _she_ wanted, and it was just as much a part of Lightning as her human side. The wolf was the one who sought out her family in the first place, who found such protection in her peers, who sniffed at the scents of the cold night air, and whose thoughts quickly turned to the one who smelled just the same.

It was almost carnal, just simple instincts at work, the sharp longing for the one who had once stimulated such a response, one with the same dark scents, the smell of leaves, of wild places, of a world without the debatable usefulness of society. Perhaps the mind of the beast merely worked in simple terms, in what felt good, in what made the world around her seem so much safer than before, drawing from the place that her friend once spoke of, of the wilderness far beyond. It was the wolf who wanted to run there with her, wanted to spend yet another night within the forest, to run and jump and bite at each other in playful terms, to search out and find whatever made her smell so much like safety, like dark moss and deep verdant leaves.

But the human was far wiser, the dominant half of any docile lycan; it was the side that knew she had to go to bed soon, just in order to get up for work the next day, the side that put so much value into the very place she was resting in. Even if the wolf didn't care much for the little apartment, nor for the time and effort placed within it, Lightning knew that it was her home, at least for the time being. But would it be enough, she wondered, would it be enough for the wolf now that Fang was there? Her own little glimpse into the wilderness, into the more natural world, just as volatile as any lycanthropic beast.

She yearned for it, yet she scolded her own wishes at the very same time; Fang was out there, likely dozing off on those blankets again, sleeping there on the floor of the living room. There was a part of Lightning that chided herself for thinking of the times before, just a naive sort of crush, someone so much younger than she had become, the girl who always wished for those brief kisses to last just a bit longer, for Fang to steal away just a bit more of her breath than before.

Yet she was older, she told herself, and Fang had likely changed as well. It had simply been a natural reaction to their close proximity, to the shelter of cohabitation, or perhaps to an attractive physical figure, or even to the way that Fang would often hum and stroke her fingers down through that soft pink hair, gently tucking it behind Lightning's ear...

Lightning nearly snarled at herself, at the way she was just a pining young girl again, so much that she nearly felt a sharp pang of disgust echo so deeply within her heart. She reached up to pull the window shut, but the scent of fallen leaves suddenly began to caress her senses again, so dry and cool, almost sheltering, in a way. If it was truly wrong to cling to something so far off in the past, a mere five years or so of traveling, a rather brief time in the grand scheme of things... Then why did it make every muscle in her body feel so very _right?_

There was a certain instinct she carried, the subconscious knowledge of when one of her own thoughts was toxic. The thought of killing, for example, of slaying a threat, removing it, she knew it was not wise to depend on such things, they were only to be used in dire measures. But the thought of Fang, of being there beside her, the memory of that one night when they had gone off alone, in the safety of a forest grove...

Fang had waited there, watching every move that Lightning made, and it had only been a matter of time before their foreheads touched together so gently, just a simple little gesture, until it was deepened by the press of a kiss. She remembered how chaste it was, the tentative touches, just learning about each other, figuring out what felt nice, what made her feel so warm inside, merely the curiosity of a young adolescence, when the thought of touching one another didn't seem so strange anymore.

Such naive things faded later on, but what had replaced them wasn't ever shared, not after the separation between them. Lightning had been fifteen, a time when it felt like everything was changing so rapidly, from the world around her to her very own family, even her own physical form. She remembered how strange it felt to be closer to the size of her lycanthropic body, not merely dwarfed by it. Maturity happened differently in each form, she remembered learning that much from her mother, who spoke of how lycans at the age of ten would already be approaching an adult bestial body. They didn't age as rapidly as wolves, nor did they live as briefly, and their wolflike bodies underwent a massive shift in size during childhood, enough to protect themselves from any threats.

But her human side, suddenly all alone with the sudden shock of fleeing that deadly city, with only half of her family there beside her, there was simply no time to think about herself, especially not about something as trivial as her base desires. She wondered if that was why she was only feeling it so many years later, fully accustomed to the cycles and inner balances of herself, even the chemicals that made her suddenly react to such a familiar presence, it just wasn't nearly as strange as it used to be. She knew herself, and she knew the needs that occasionally took greater precedence over all else, perhaps a shower that look a little longer than usual, enough to hide away any scents that might make things a bit awkward, afterward.

She had once gone to a public library for answers, and quite fortunately, she'd found an older woman who understood the questions she needed to ask, a person who spoke of helping her own children learn about such things. There was simply an inner instinct at work, a base need, yet Lightning soon learned that her own desires were a bit less so than most of the average population, if a certain book on physical health was to be considered accurate. It was only when she felt that same sense of loneliness, the burden of too much solitude, only then did she let her mind wander towards the distant thoughts of warmth and gentle touches, to the nights spent sleeping in Fang's arms.

And perhaps that was what drove her to move away from the open window, closing it to keep out the chill, before she slowly turned to approach the door of her own room, moving so silently into the hallway. She could already see the living room from there, the sofa and the dim light of the television, still flickering without sound. Perhaps Fang was watching something while Vanille slept, but that wasn't what Lightning focused upon.

"Hey." Fang spoke in just a whisper, glancing up at Lightning. "You alright?"

Lightning looked down at the blanket that Fang was sitting upon.

"Light?" Fang's gaze traveled to the slight flush of color on Lightning's cheeks. "What is it?"

Lightning looked away. "We need to talk." She took a step backwards, approaching the hallway again. "...Please."

Fang rose up to her feet, before she reached over for the remote to turn off the television. "Okay."

Lightning moved on towards the kitchen, where she quickly reached for a small glass from one of the cupboards, filling it up with cold water from the sink. "I've been thinking a whole lot, lately." She listened to the soft sound of Fang's footsteps against the tile floor. "These past weeks... How long has it been?"

"How long has what been?" Fang stepped up to lean against the kitchen counter. "How long have we been here..? You know I don't keep track of time."

Lightning's gaze flickered ever so slightly, torn between staring out at the kitchen window or at the outline of Fang's face, so soft beneath the pale moonlight. "We knew each other for almost five years... I've counted." She took a long sip of water to soothe her nerves. "And then six apart."

Fang took a brief moment to listen to the low sounds of the house, the pipes that creaked so quietly, the sound of the dishwasher rumbling softly into the night, and then to the sound of Lightning herself, the quiet little breaths, the sounds that her bare feet made against the kitchen floor.

"I know we were young, and we didn't always make the best decisions..." Lightning paused, before she leaned back to rest against the counter as well. "But... I don't regret what we had." She looked away, and her next few words sounded a bit more blunt than she might have liked. "Do you still feel the same way about me?"

Fang made a low humming sound, all without opening her mouth, just a small, yet breathy laugh from her throat and nose. "I've been wondering the same thing... Never one to mince words, are you, Light?"

Lightning just kept looking away.

"You know I won't sugarcoat things for you." Fang leaned away from the counter. "And I don't mince words, either... I came back because I missed the two of you, because I missed how it felt." She stepped in slightly, waiting for Lightning to meet her gaze. "Because I missed _you_."

Lightning slowly narrowed her eyes. "...Then why haven't you kissed me yet?"

Fang felt a brief glimmer of mirth in her heart, and she closed her eyes for just a moment. "Because I don't know if you still want me to." She knew that she had almost always been the one to initiate such things, to lead with slow kisses against the back of Lightning's neck, on towards the mutual touch of tongues and teeth, memories that still made her feel so tingly. "I couldn't live with myself if you didn't want it."

And Lightning slowly moved, drawing nearer and nearer to where Fang still had her eyes shut, before they touched with just a simple press of skin, a set of lips against Fang's cheek, brief and somewhat chaste.

Fang slowly opened her eyes. "You're more confident, now... Not that you weren't before." She lifted one of her arms, offering her hand. "Do you still want to be what we used to?"

Lightning twined her fingertips with Fang's. "And what were we?"

"A couple of dumb puppies trying to be wolves?" Fang smirked when Lightning leaned in again. "We had to grow up quick, Light... We always had to be the adults."

Lightning let her mouth graze the curve of Fang's jaw. "And what are we now?"

"I think we should let that part happen by itself." Fang leaned in as well, an open offer, yet she waited for Lightning to close the distance. "A blank slate... An empty book."

Lightning hesitated for just a brief moment, before she slowly let her mouth brush against Fang's lips, testing for that familiar shape, the memory that had once burned itself so deep into her mind, and then the feeling of such warmth, the sudden press of Fang's hand against the small of her back, mixing in with the sensation from far above. It was still so gentle, just soft little breaths and brief nibbles on her tongue, playful and warm, before they both sank even deeper into the feeling.

"Light..." Fang whispered it in a single breath, before it was stolen again, meshed in with such warmth, the feeling of her own tongue swirling back against Lightning's, perhaps a bit further than they had ever gone before, yet she wasn't one to question such a stroke of luck. "...Lightning."

Lightning took a moment just to breathe, feeling the soft tickle of Fang's voice over her skin.

"I missed this." Fang slowly nuzzled her nose against Lightning's cheek. "You know what you always remind me of?"

Lightning squeezed her hand, before she leaned in to rest her chin against Fang's shoulder. "You remind me of the woods." She breathed in such a powerful scent, the deep tones of the wilderness, of freedom, such a comforting scent, as if she was safe and sheltered by the sheer strength of it. "You remind me of home."

Fang hummed a low, breathy sound, wrapping her free arm a bit tighter around Lightning's waist. "You remind me of rain in the mountains... You know how close the thunder sounds?" She nipped at the curve of Lightning's neck, and she swiftly felt the way it made her shiver. "It makes you feel _alive_ , like you're just another part of the storm."

Lightning closed her eyes so tightly. "Don't leave us again."

"You know I didn't want to." Fang moved to murmur against Lightning's ear. "We had to keep them safe."

"I know." Lightning tightened her grip on Fang's hand. "But I want to be with you."

Fang looked out over the peaceful house, at the low moonlight that filtered in through the curtains, resting against the softness of Lightning's nightshirt, against the one who she knew she loved, her partner from what felt like so long ago.

"Will you sleep next to me?" Lightning's weariness became much more apparent in her voice, so worn from the work of the week. "I've missed it."

"Okay." Fang felt herself grow much closer and closer, yet so distant, stifling the urge to keep kissing Lightning into oblivion, calmed by the greater need to care for her. "Okay..."

Lightning nuzzled her cheek against the side of Fang's neck, standing so close to her, two figures in the darkness of the night, two heartbeats that echoed against each other, and she felt herself being led away from the kitchen. She was drifting, succumbing to the sheer relief, to the knowledge that Fang was indeed ready to start again, that her gentle presence was still just as strong as it ever was, a solid force that kept the whole world at bay, that would keep their strange little family safe. She scarcely even remembered being guided into bed, nor the creak of the mattress when Fang slowly settled on the opposite side, but she did remember crawling over there beside her, nuzzling down to rest against Fang's body, cuddled and held by such strong, yet caring arms.

She was asleep before she knew it, and the deep dreams suddenly found her, the feeling of her tall limbs within the tall grass, of golden eyes peering back at her, the face of the wild, of the _wolf_ , waiting so silently in the night. It was her own presence, she knew it by mere instinct, the pale wolf who was just as much a part of her as the human side, yet both of them would always give in to the sounds of the wilderness. She dreamt of running between the trees, of chasing after mice and rabbits, hunting with the loyal one at her side, the dark presence that felt far safer than any physical shelter.

And back in the waking world, Fang merely lingered there, stroking her fingers down through Lightning's hair, soothing both of them to sleep. They were pressed up against each other, cuddled beneath those thick winter blankets. It was a soft, blooming sensation that swelled inside her heart, and Fang nestled herself down against the pillows, breathing in the warm scent of her companion, before her eyes slipped shut again.

* * *

It was Friday, universally known as likely the greatest day of the week, if only for the fact that it meant the weekend had officially arrived. And for Lightning, who finally found herself done with yet another day of work, facing her locker in the break room again, she could already feel just the faintest glimmer of excitement.

Fang was there with her, still carrying on with those work days as she had promised to do, yet there was a bit of anticipation in her every step, not quite anxiousness, for Fang was hardly ever nervous. Yet it became clear when they approached the bus stop again, it was clear that she was also quite excited for something.

"She took the right one, didn't she?" Fang stood on the lookout for the city bus. "I told her the exact route-"

"Fang, relax..." Lightning leaned back against the bench seat. "Worst case, we could always go tomorrow."

"No, Serah wants me to abduct you tomorrow." Fang peered out over the city streets. "I'm supposed to bring you somewhere fun."

Lightning glanced up from the screen of her phone. "Where do you want to go?"

Fang smiled to herself. "It's not about where I want to go... Where do _you_ want to go?"

Lightning just shrugged.

"Think about it." Fang moved to sit on the bench as well, but she stood up again almost immediately, gazing at the approaching bus. "I gave her the right amount, didn't I?"

Lightning tried not to sigh. "She'll be there." She rose up to her feet, before she tucked her phone away in her purse. "You saw how excited she was about it."

Fang smiled softly. "It's nice of you to give her the spare room."

"What, should I make her sleep on the couch instead?" Lightning stepped up towards the edge of the sidewalk. "Like I said... She's family."

Fang kept smiling, and she moved to stand beside Lightning. "You know, I haven't seen her look this happy in years."

Lightning could feel the glowing affection in Fang's gaze.

"Not that she wasn't cheerful, you know..." Fang trailed off for a moment. "It just wasn't the same without the two of you."

The bus rumbled to a slow stop, and the door creaked open with a slight squeak of the hinges, before both Fang and Lightning stepped up and over the short flight of stairs. But before Fang could even reach for her pocket, Lightning swiped her bus pass twice through the terminal, paying for both of their fares.

"Thanks, Light." Fang followed after her, and she smiled again at the sight of a familiar face near the back of the bus. "Hey, kiddo..."

Vanille beamed at both of them. "Fang!"

Lightning walked towards the aisle that had room for three, and she let Vanille move over to the middle seat, before Lightning herself sat down near the window.

Fang settled herself against the last seat. "How was your day?"

Vanille tried not to fidget from excitement. "It was good, but I had trouble waiting..." She glanced over at Lightning. "I wish I could've gone with you guys in the morning."

Lightning shook her head. "The docks are busy, no place for wandering around."

Vanille tried to pout at that, yet she couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I wouldn't get in the way!"

Lightning just closed her eyes, leaning back against the seat.

"Anyway." Fang crossed her legs when the bus rumbled back into motion. "You excited, Vanille?"

Vanille kept smiling. "I've never had a room like this before!" She glanced at the window for a moment, gazing out at the distant sea, before she turned back to Fang. "The place we rented, it wasn't anything like the apartment..."

Fang nodded. "Light's done a lot for the place." She glanced back at Lightning. "...You know we're proud of you, right?"

Lightning opened her eyes for just a brief moment, yet there was still that same exhaustion there, the weariness from the work day.

"Sorry, Light." Fang reached over to gently tap one of Lightning's knees. "You can take a nap if you want; we'll wake you up once we get there."

Lightning let her eyes slip shut again, and she murmured her thanks in a low whisper.

Vanille tried her very best not to look worried about such things, but a twinge of concern crossed her gaze, before she glanced back over at Fang.

Fang forced herself to smile. "So, you want a race car bed?"

Vanille rolled her eyes. "Eww, no... That's kid stuff."

Fang smirked to herself. "Just pick whatever you like best."

"Yeah." Vanille looked down at her feet, at the worn shoes that were already starting to fade and fray at the edges. "I was thinking, maybe I could help you guys during the day... Not back there, you know, not the harbor, but if I could find some other work to do-"

"Vanille." Fang kept her voice very low. "You don't have to do that."

"But it doesn't feel right-" Vanille looked over at Lightning. "The two of you do all of this, and what do I do?" She let her gaze drop to the floor of the bus. "There's not much left to fix, or paint..." Vanille took a very deep breath, before she looked at Lightning again. "Do you know if there might be any job listings nearby?"

Though it seemed as if Lightning had already fallen asleep, dozing there in the rhythm of the rumbling bus.

"Let her rest." Fang slung her arm around Vanille's shoulders. "We'll find you something to do, okay?"

Vanille moved to lean her head against Fang's shoulder. "Okay."

Fang lowered her voice to a murmur. "You know she loves you just as much as I do, right?" Her gaze drifted over towards Lightning. "Even if she has trouble saying it... That's why she's going with us, today."

"I know." Vanille closed her eyes as well. "You know how lucky I feel..?"

Fang felt a slight flicker of surprise, just a small shock when she paused to consider the life that they had lived before, all of those days of running and living beneath the shadow of a gunshot, the nights when they went to sleep feeling so hungry or cold.

"We're all together again." Vanille smiled in a rather bright way, even with her eyes closed. "We found them, Fang."

Fang gently tightened her grip around Vanille's shoulders, and she closed her eyes as well, just listening to the low rumble of the bus.

* * *

"This one's a little strange..." Vanille found herself laying flat on her back, gazing up at the fluorescent lights of the furniture section of the store. "It's not too stiff, it just feels weird."

"Pick one that either feels good or doesn't feel like anything." Lightning moved to examine another mattress. "If you don't notice the way it feels, it won't bother you."

Vanille sat up again, and she hopped back down from the edge of the test bed. "Fang's still looking at the nightstands, isn't she?"

"Probably." Lightning tapped at one of the other mattresses. "Try this one."

Vanille stepped up to lay down upon it. "...Thank you for this."

Lightning glanced at another of the sample beds. "For taking you here?"

Vanille shook her head. "For being so patient... I don't know anything about this stuff." She settled herself against the mattress, testing how it felt on either side. "I remember sleeping on really something soft when I was little, but it's all so blurry... It's like I can't remember anything but the unimportant things."

"Don't worry about it." Lightning moved to sit down on a different mattress. "The past is all in the past, it doesn't matter now."

"I guess so." Vanille slowly waved her feet back and forth, relaxing against the bed. "I think I like this one."

"Let's see..." Lightning stood up to check the tag on the side of the mattress. "It's in our price range."

Vanille sat up again. "I can just use the blankets back at home, right? We don't need to buy those."

"Those aren't bed sheets." Lightning moved over, and she pressed her hands against the mattress, testing how it felt. "If you're sure about this one, then we can go look at the bedspreads."

In the moments that followed, Vanille's gaze almost began to glisten with unspoken things, with the gratefulness that swelled up in her heart like a great tidal wave, yet she simply nodded, stepping down from the bed.

"Are you alright?" Lightning peered at the wavering sort of look that Vanille had in her eyes. "If you'd rather take a break-"

"No, I'm okay." Vanille smiled yet again, and she walked on with a slight bounce in her step, gesturing for Lightning to follow. "But we should really go and find Fang before she gets too far ahead of us!"

Lightning walked on as well, and she fought back the smallest of smiles. "Already off to get dinner, you think?"

* * *

It had been said in jest, but just as soon as they'd picked out the furniture and paid for it, and then scheduled a delivery to the apartment, Lightning found herself following both Fang and Vanille towards a restaurant within the shopping plaza.

Yet when they approached the front doors, Lightning paused, before she reached down into her purse for her phone. "Go get a table, I'll call Serah and see if she wants us to bring something back."

"Alright." Fang held the door open for Vanille. "She's still working on that assignment, isn't she?"

Lightning nodded. "Yeah." She dialed a number into the phone, before she held it up to her ear. She could hear the sounds all around her, the muffled conversations from within the restaurant, the whispers of the crisp autumn wind, and she felt herself smile when Serah's voice made itself known from so far away.

"Hey." Lightning turned to face the front doors of the restaurant again. "We're at that little grill and bar, downtown... No, not the one on Park Street, the other one." She glanced up at the sign above the doors. "I was just wondering if you wanted me to bring you back some dinner." Lightning felt herself relax at the calm sound of Serah's voice, a gentle reminder that she wasn't always needed back at home, that her sister was more than old enough to take care of the place by herself. "Okay, what about dessert?" Serah's reply almost made her want to laugh. "Right, it'd probably just melt... I'll see what else they have."

And it was suddenly so silent again, all except for the muffled music, the voices, and the sound of the rustling leaves. Lightning looked back over her shoulder again, feeling the deep secret of herself start to prickle and gaze out with her, the wolf who felt such apprehension at the sight of such a populated place. It was the city around her that felt so right and yet so very _wrong_ at the same time, it was the safety of a crowd, a double-edged sword, and it was solitude that she wished for in response, even if her companions were already waiting there for her. Lightning knew they might often see her as cold, and might think that the suppression of her inner nature might be too much for her own good, but she knew well of her own strength, she knew the wild beast that lurked within every action she took, every step she made, yet it kept itself restrained, even when a world of sound suddenly bloomed out all around her.

Lightning moved through the doorway, and there it was, Fang's scent, just as clear as day; it stood out from all the others, yet she still had to feign ignorance, glancing all around to find her friends. The other people there looked upon her as just another human, just a simple face in the crowd, a young woman out for a night of relaxation, for they couldn't possibly see the wolf, couldn't detect the lycan that trailed her every footstep.

It was simple to find a place there, to settle down on the bench beside Fang, and then to inhale the thousands upon thousands of human scents, more stories than she could ever speak of, but Lightning just closed her eyes again to block out the sheer sensory input. It was always right beneath the surface, always there, always waiting for the point in which something would finally slip, when the barrel of a gun would appear so hazily within the distance, yet there was nothing out there that she could see.

* * *

Muffled noises echoed in between the alley buildings, and a lone beast stalked beside the cold stone walls of the path itself, sniffing and tracking down the small creatures of the inner city, before he suddenly lurched out to occupy his teeth.

The raccoon hissed, thrashing and screeching for just a moment, but the strength of those massive jaws won upon that dark, gloomy night, the maw of a lanky canine, and a set of pale green eyes quickly peered out into the darkness. The golden shade had left his irises, no longer quite so much of a wolf, more of stray dog in the city streets, yet he had little time to dwell upon his appearance.

There was blood between his teeth, something to keep him alive for yet another day. The raccoon had gone quickly, just a single bite to the neck, snapping those spinal bones apart and rendering it lifeless. He began to tear the thick fur away, just to get the edible part exposed, before a sudden flash of light made him leap right to his feet.

A gruff voice sounded out from behind the beam of brightness. "Holy..."

His vision blurred, and he stumbled away, more than slightly dizzied by the sheer shine of the flashlight.

"Got one of the rats, did it?" There were two of them there, humans, those who had likely heard the frenzied screeching of the raccoon. "No, that's no rat..."

Hope's ears flattened against his head, and he stared up at those who stood above his kill.

"Call animal control, could have rabies."

Hope's breath caught in his throat, and he swiftly dashed right away, rushing off into the shadows of the alleyway. And as he ran, his eyes began to sting with unshed tears, burning with the hunger that roared inside his stomach, a meal stolen by his own lack of discretion. He moved on without pause, just to put as much distance between himself and the pair of people as possible, but the scents kept swirling all around him, human signatures, a city _packed_ with them, filled to the brim, so much that there was hardly any room left for a stray lycan.

He soon found himself resting beneath the shade of a plastic bin, gazing out at the distant streetlights and the glow of the setting sun. His mouth was still so red with blood, and he could taste it on his tongue, the rich nutrients that his body still called out for, sustenance that he hadn't found in days. Had it all been futile, then? Had he evaded the bite of a gunshot just to starve there in some back alley street?

But the wolf was still so present, far too proud to go yet another night without food, and he swiftly forced himself back up to his feet, wandering off in search of an easier meal. There was always the possibly that he might steal a bit of food, yet the guilt of such a thing would weigh far heavier than any hunger, so he turned away from the places that smelled rife with human creations, and he ran off into the side streets, towards the more public parts of the city, until he caught the nearby scent of a lake. He drew to a quick halt and lapped at the water, grateful for the refreshment, before his pointed ears perked at a low sound, the warning cluck of a resting waterfowl, a wild duck, by the look of it.

Hope slowly lifted his head. His fur was still stained with the blood of a fellow lycan and those others who had hunted him, a pelt of silver caked with such a deep, dark black, the hue of dried blood, and he slowly began to bare his teeth.

The wolf was still so proud, proud enough to be pecked and flapped at by the angry thrashings of a bird, simple enough prey. It couldn't fly very far at such a late hour, blinded by eyes that had such poor vision in the dark, and it seemed rather softened by a life that had been bereft of predation, nurtured by the humans who gave it food, by those who never needed to hunt for themselves. But he was different, a predator in the darkness, starving and utterly desperate for such sustenance, and before long, a single, pale bird lay before him, stained with that same shade of bright red. Hope's tongue lolled with streaks of the scarlet liquid, and he quickly moved in to devour as much of the flesh as he could, just in case those frightened cries had been heard by someone as well.

They were lucky, he thought to himself, lucky birds that people kept there for the sake of beauty, living a life of relaxation and pampering. Would it be different when they migrated? He had seen it, of course, with the changing seasons; geese began to fly away in flock formations, great pointed shapes in the sky, ready to leave before the winter came back again.

And in the back of his mind, while he ate his fill of the raw duck flesh, he knew his own luck would be tested even further by the arrival of the snowfall, but such things would just have to wait.

* * *

"You still awake there, Light?"

Lightning fought the urge to grunt, and she opened her eyes instead.

"There you are..." Fang was silently drumming her fingertips against the table. "The food should be here soon."

Lightning stifled a soft yawn against her wrist, before she leaned forward again. "If they try to offer us dessert..."

Vanille looked up from where she had been drawing something on a paper menu.

Lightning bit back a smirk. "There's this little ice cream place on the way back to the bus stop... Cheaper and way better than anything you can get around here." She felt a twinge of amusement at the brightness in Vanille's eyes. "So let's go for that, instead."

Vanille smiled as well, and she nodded. "Okay, but could we still bring something back for Serah?"

Lightning shrugged. "It might melt a little... I'll have to see if they have anything here we could take home." She reached for one of the dessert menus. "Damn."

Fang leaned over to see the full page display of seasonal pies, all topped with ice cream, a few with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and occasionally with fresh fruit. "Damn is right."

Vanille tried to see as well, moving across the cushioned bench to look at the pictures. "Wow..."

Lightning moved to set the menu down on the table. "I was looking at the price."

Fang clicked her tongue at that, and she slowly shook her head. "Not in our range, eh?"

Lightning turned the page of the menu. "Not if we want the electricity to last the week."

"It's okay, Light." Vanille moved back to where she had been sitting before. "Like you said, we can get ice cream."

"Yeah." Lightning glanced at the less expensive section of the menu, one with smaller portions, which actually had a bit of seasonal fare that was more within the amount she was able to pay. "Serah likes apples... I don't know if she's ever had apple pie, though; mom only ever made blueberry when we were little."

"We had cherry once, didn't we?" Fang tried her best to remember. "The summer carnival, remember that?"

Lightning nodded. "If Serah doesn't like it, it can go in the fridge for someone else." She closed the menu again, glancing around at the cozy atmosphere of the restaurant. "But she's never been too picky."

Their food arrived within a few minutes, a modest amount of plates, rather simple dishes that could be eaten quite quickly, though there was little reason to worry about speed during such an activity. A change of forms hardly ever occurred during a meal, as it brought on the chemical reflex that stifled the need to rely on their instincts. It was the natural reaction from the process of eating, making both the body and mind think that the area was safe enough to relax, to be at ease with their surroundings, and it made the entire ordeal much less stressful than it might have felt otherwise.

While she ate, Lightning watched the way that Vanille kept drawing throughout dinner, sketching out a picture with the pen that Fang had loaned to her. It was some sort of land formation, a great mountain above a low, distant valley, and there were many tall trees that stood along each ridge of the rocky structure.

"These are pretty damn good." Fang dipped the end of a crispy chicken strip into a small dish of sauce. "You want one, Light?"

Lightning glanced back at her own plate, and she soon traded a bit of her food for a chicken strip.

And with that, Fang murmured her next few words under her breath. "Almost better than venison..."

Lightning glanced back into Fang's eyes, and she could already see the far deeper meaning, the silent thankfulness that was being offered along with sharing their meals.

"But maybe we can go hunting again, soon." Fang's teeth flashed with the promise of something far sharper. "Cut the costs, you know? Break out the rifles and bag us all some game..."

And Lightning knew, watching the way that Fang chewed a bite of the tender meat, she knew that what was being suggested was quite different than any gunshot.

* * *

Pale feathers drifted along in the wind, and the surface of the lake began to glimmer beneath the lights of the distant street lamps, though Hope chose a much more shaded spot to clean himself from the blood. His current front limbs were hardly useful for such a task, but he could still lick at his muzzle and rub it down with his paw pads, washing his face of all the things that he had done, of those lives he had taken away, even if in his own memory, he knew that they would never die.

His tail was twitching against the tall grass, and his ears were resting low. Though they occasionally swiveled out to listen to his surroundings, it was only when a group of footsteps began to sound off against the distant path, only then did Hope lurch upright and then lower himself in the grass.

There was very little shelter around that he could run to, at least not without being seen, so he merely waited there in the tall stalks of foliage, praying that whoever was out for a late stroll wouldn't be one to try and find him. Yet when he finally caught sight of them, and then watched one of them kneel down to lift up a stray, blooded feather between her fingertips...

A rather youthful voice broke the silence. "What's that, Light?"

There was another, standing taller, who honed in on the scent almost immediately.

Hope's eyes went very wide. Were they lycans, then? Like him?

The first one, who was kneeling, she spoke in a rather dry tone. "Smells like one of us."

Hope tried to keep as silent as he possibly could, and he squeezed his eyes shut when a sharp gaze suddenly caught sight of him, those dark green eyes of the tallest person.

"Hell..." Her voice was heavily accented. "Trying to blow your cover, are you? Hide your damn kill, you _stupid_ -"

"Fang!" It was the younger one who spoke again. "Be nice..."

Hope swiftly darted away, rushing off into the shelter of the nearby trees, the low undergrowth that stood beside the edge of the lake, and he tried to conceal himself there within the brambles. His mind raced with that sudden jolt of fear, the possibility that they would try to chase him off for being so very careless, and he let himself pray over and over again that they would just _leave_ , to just go away and leave him in peace. So he narrowed his eyes, shivering there inside the tiny grove, before he heard a single sound from back atop the pathway.

A sharp gaze was peering down at him from beyond the bright red leaves, a set of keen blue eyes, those that only hinted at a deeper shade of gold. He watched her reach into a large paper bag, and then set something down beside the edge of the path. Hope listened to the muffled voices, the sounds that drifted out into the lush little grove of trees, yet he only dared to move again once they were much further away, once those people were far out of sight.

Such a sweet scent drifted out from the small box, a container that had the pale feather placed right on top of it. Hope's nose twitched so rapidly at the smell, yet he slowly used his teeth to pull the top open, before he looked down upon a single slice of apple pie.

* * *

"I still don't like it." Fang almost seemed to be ignoring the cup of ice cream in her hands. "That's how it all starts, you know? People get way too bold, they start drawing attention, and the next thing you know... You've got a whole damn army going after you, out for a purge."

"Fang." Lightning glanced up from the bench of the bus stop, where an extra cup of ice cream was resting right beside the paper bag. "He was just a kid... Didn't you see?"

"That doesn't excuse it." Fang tried not to pace around on the sidewalk. "You don't leave a kill like that out in the open... You don't leave _any_ trace behind that you were even there." She glanced out at the winding city streets, rather grateful that the three of them were alone. "Euride happened because of bullshit like that."

Vanille looked back up from her own cup of ice cream. "Fang..."

"It _did_." Fang narrowed her eyes, before she stifled a short hiss with her teeth. "We had to run, to leave... We had to split up with Light and Serah because of people like that, too thoughtless to hide it away."

Lightning took a small bite of ice cream. "I think you scared him into behaving."

Fang tried not to roll her eyes. "We'd damn better hope so."

From where she was sitting on the bench, Vanille glanced up at the cup in Fang's hands. "Your ice cream's gonna melt..."

With a sigh, Fang dipped her spoon into it, before she sat down on the bench beside Vanille. "Alright, alright." After a moment or two, she gently ruffled Vanille's hair. "That's why we always used to be so strict about it, you know? Don't leave a trace and they usually won't bother you."

Vanille leaned her head against Fang's shoulder. "Maybe he doesn't know about that?"

"Maybe." Fang tried to make herself relax, just to eat her ice cream in silence, but she soon found herself voicing her thoughts again. "You'd think it'd just be common sense..."

Lightning checked the time on her phone for the next bus arrival. "Fang, did you see how thin he looked?"

Fang frowned ever so slightly, yet she didn't respond.

"It's a rough life out there." Lightning looked over at both of her companions. "We all know that... And we're lucky to be where we are."

Fang lowered her gaze to the street. "It's not luck." She took a small bite of her ice cream, before she spoke in a far softer tone than before. "It's perseverance, and all of that hard work, Light, that's why you've got us the apartment, now."

Lightning glanced back at Fang.

"Light." Fang kept her arm around Vanille's shoulders. "Our family... We're all here because of you."

* * *

She could see the pale moonlight from far beyond her windowsill, the rays that shone so brightly from behind the trees. Lightning watched how the leaves moved back and forth in the wind, before she felt a gentle touch at the back of her neck.

"We should get some sleep." Fang traced her lips over the smooth curve of Lightning's jawline, just a ghost of a kiss. "If we don't, Serah's gonna have to drag us both out of bed tomorrow."

Lightning slowly looked back over her shoulder. "I thought I bribed her with dinner and ice cream?"

Fang hummed, almost a laugh. "Might not be enough... She seemed pretty happy with it, though."

Lightning closed her eyes, before she slowly turned around to sit there on the bed, resting beside Fang. "I know she means well... She's been busy with those fall assignments, they're the ones that decide which winter courses she'll take."

Fang hummed again, still so close. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

Lightning leaned in to rest their foreheads together. "I don't know."

"Well." Fang brushed her nose against Lightning's cheek. "We could always just stick to the basics... Walk around the city, be lazy tourists for a day."

Lightning gave Fang a rather unimpressed look.

"But if that doesn't appeal to you-" Fang gently ran her hands over Lightning's wrists. "Maybe we could get out of town for a while... Be back here before sunset, of course."

She felt that warmth again, the soft fluttering that ran so deep in her lower stomach, and Lightning brought herself in to slowly kiss at Fang's jawline, feeling the strength that lingered there. They waited like that, long into the night, slowly coaxing each other into greater affection.

"Tell me what you want, Light." Fang wrapped her arms around Lightning's lower back. "Just tell me."

Lightning felt a distinct ripple beneath her skin, the side of her that Fang always brought out, the woman of sharper teeth, yet such gentle bites, those golden eyes that lurked there within the shadows.

"Anything." Fang's breath nearly hitched at the sudden grip on either side of her waist. "You want to know what I want?"

Lightning nodded against the crook of Fang's neck.

"You..." Fang's voice dropped to a lower sound, somehow so soft, a deep, rumbling hum of contentment. "I want you."

* * *

It began later in the night, when there was less of a chance of being overheard. Their kisses meshed into such soft, whispering breaths, and the touch of blunt teeth traced over the moonlit curves of human skin, supple and strong, so smooth and silky.

Fang hissed when Lightning finally took her, far bolder than either of them had ever been before. She was pinned to the sheets, locked there within the darkness, kissed down into breathless gasps and tiny, broken whimpers. There were the little sounds, the noises choked from her throat by those deft fingertips grazing at her warmth, at the soft curls of her sex, and she slowly brought her own fingernails up to drag against the curve of Lightning's spine.

"Fang..." Lightning nipped at Fang's neck, leaving just the faintest hint of redness. "Is this good?"

Fang nodded wordlessly, and she felt herself tremble when Lightning pressed even deeper, gently caressing her from within.

"I need this, sometimes..." Lightning tried her best to to keep straddling Fang from above, even when her back arched and turned, gently fighting for the place she held. "I start to feel really warm."

"Yeah-" Fang forced herself to relax, even when a deep shudder shook her entire field of view, and even when Lightning moved back to slowly stroke at her clit, erasing the words from her mind. "Yeah..."

Lightning leaned in to steal her next breath away from Fang's soft, reddened lips. "It's whenever I start to feel alone."

"No, no..." Fang snaked her arms against Lightning's shoulders, gently twining her fingers into that soft pink hair. "You're not-"

"I know." Lightning felt a tiny smirk tug at her mouth when Fang suddenly jolted, trembling from the repeated strokes against her sex. "I've never done this to anyone else but me."

"Oh-" Fang's voice cracked, and her breath shivered. "Sweetheart, you wouldn't know _that_ from what you're doing, there..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Hm." She moved to nip at Fang's jaw again, gently traveling up towards her cheek. "What do you mean by that?"

Fang squirmed, and she nearly whimpered at the far stronger touch, feeling herself clench against the slick force of Lightning's fingertips.

"Tell me, Fang..." Lightning lowered her voice, and it was softer, yet somewhat rough. "Did you think I'd be shy about this? That I'd be the same person I was before?" She rubbed her thumb in such small circles against Fang's clit. "You think you'd come back and I wouldn't want you..?" Lightning let her voice drop even lower, and she whispered her words right beside Fang's ear, still moving her hand even harder. "You think you'd just waltz back in here and I wouldn't want to be yours?"

Fang's eyes welled up with a feeling that she couldn't quite describe, fueled by the sweetness that Lightning's touch brought out from her, the trembling sensation she felt with each thudding heartbeat, with each kiss pressed towards her mouth, against her lips, silencing any answer she might've given.

"You're... You're my only one." Lightning stroked Fang rather roughly, a claiming touch, clashing with the soft tone of her voice. "You know I don't like the word love."

Fang nodded breathlessly.

"But I could use it for you." Lightning felt her own eyes grow damp when Fang whimpered again, so very sharply, before the slickness suddenly bloomed there against her fingertips, and when Fang finally shuddered and came, gripping on to her so tightly. "Fang... I could say I love you."

"Light..." Fang's breath grew so very hoarse, and she gently dragged Lightning down to rest against her. "Shh... Love you too." Her voice was slurred with the ragged breaths upon her lips, before she took a moment to kiss Lightning's forehead.

Lightning felt that heartbeat thudding so strongly against her own, and she let her eyes slip shut, savoring the sheer warmth of Fang's bare skin, before she gently moved her hand away.

The room went very silent for a while, even with the sounds of the wind against the apartment walls, the creak of the distant trees, none of it seemed to reach either of them. It was only the sound of Fang's breath that Lightning listened to, that and the gentle thrum of her heart.

"Love hurts." Lightning could feel the cool air of the night upon her fingertips, and she slowly curled each them against her palm. "It hurts and I hate it."

Fang chuckled low in her throat, before she wrapped her arms around Lightning's upper back. "I don't think that's entirely true..."

Lightning didn't open her eyes, even when Fang gently tried to pull her closer. "It does hurt."

"Hmm." Fang nuzzled their noses together. "But do you really hate it..?"

Lightning let her eyes slide open again, a softer sort of blue, yet no longer quite so docile. "I don't hate you."

"That's good." Fang slowly curled one of her legs against Lightning's nearest thigh. "Otherwise I'd be wondering what the hell _that_ was."

Lightning scoffed quietly, yet she felt just the slightest glimmer of excitement at just how strong Fang's limb truly felt, so very muscular and lithe.

"You know, Light." Fang's voice was just starting to grow quite steady again, no longer so hoarse or breathy. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been waiting a long time to do that to me."

Lightning narrowed her eyes with just a slight flicker of amusement. "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again."

"True." Fang slowly stroked her other leg against Lightning's thigh. "But there's always wishful thinking..."

And she was moved, flipped and pinned there, down towards colder side of the sheets, a sharp contrast to the warmth of Fang's skin, yet it was still there against her front, the heat of the fire within the cold chill of that night, just enough to make her shiver.

"And if I _really_ didn't know any better..." Fang licked a long stripe up Lightning's neck. "I'd say you were waiting for me to do the same."

Lightning fought with herself not to tremble even further, to press back against the hold Fang that had on her wrists, and she swiftly wriggled free to wrap her arms around Fang's shoulders, pulling her in for a far deeper kiss. Their gentleness gave way to much rougher bites and the full strength of their mouths, still so affectionate, yet Lightning found herself trying to stifle a moan at the way Fang tasted her, just a bit more dominant from up above.

"You want me, Light..?" Fang's voice was ragged, so sweet and breathy. "I'll be yours, too."

Lightning felt her face heat up with the sudden force of rushing blood, and she nearly froze up when Fang rubbed the swell of one of her breasts, missing her nipple by a mere inch or two.

"You just have to tell me." Fang leaned in to kiss Lightning's forehead again, tasting the faintest tang of her sweat. "I won't touch you if you don't want me."

Lightning tightened her grip in Fang's unruly mane of hair. "I do want you..." She exhaled swiftly when Fang moved down, kissing at the nearest curve of her breast. " _Fang_ -"

"Hmm?" Fang gently licked her way towards a dusky pink nipple. "What's that, Light?"

Lightning felt her breath quicken, felt Fang's nimble touch stoke the spark of heat inside her lower belly, so sharp and hot, before she leaned her head back against the pillow, gasping at the sheer warmth of her mouth. Fang hummed against Lightning's breast; it was quite easy to just reach down, to gently hold her by the waist, solidifying the fact that she was truly there, that Lightning was feeling such things, that love could also make her whimper and squirm, fueled by the erogenous pressure.

"Fang-" Lightning gripped at Fang's hair, praying that her hold wasn't too tight, yet she felt her own hips lift sharply at the repeated strokes of that tongue. " _Fang_..."

"If you've got a question for me, Light..." Fang lifted her head to nuzzle Lightning's nose again. "You just have to ask it."

Lightning's eyes were much more misty than before. "I missed you."

"Same here." Fang gently squeezed Lightning's hips. "You sure you want this..? It's fine if you-"

Lightning silenced her, kissing and feeling that sudden heat of her mouth, the sharpness of her teeth, still human, still so gentle.

"Okay." Fang felt Lightning's breath shiver against her own. "Just tell me if you want to stop."

Lightning nodded, squeezing her eyes shut, before she felt her jaw tighten when Fang stroked the lower curve of her belly and hips, just above the soft tangle of hair between her thighs.

"I used to think about this, sometimes." Fang closed her eyes as well, before she gently leaned in to kiss Lightning's cheek. "But we were young... It wasn't the right time."

Lightning felt a quick gasp rattle through her chest when Fang suddenly stroked against her slick folds, just light as a feather, yet her breath almost seemed to roar there in her own ears, so shuddery and quick.

"I still loved you." Fang slowly traced over the soft hood of Lightning's clit. "Even if we weren't always sure about each other."

Lightning bit back a quiet cry, and she felt her whole body shiver when Fang touched just a bit lower, gauging her reaction to a gentle pressure inside.

"You've always been so strong." Fang pressed a bit further, just a single fingertip, slowly feeling her way between those parted folds. "And I loved it about you."

Lightning's eyes welled up with that same veil of mistiness, and she trembled once, then again when Fang slipped even further, stroking her from within.

"It's okay, Light..." Fang soothed her other hand against Lightning's upper arm. "You're okay."

She felt it rushing through herself, the way it made her hips lift up again, moving deeper, and Lightning let her eyes drift open once more, just clear as glass, yet so strained by the heavy pressure in her abdomen. Fang wove it right into her, the touch that made her tremble and clench, before a small, quiet cry broke the heavy silence.

Lightning lowered her grip down to Fang's neck, and she held it there, rocked even further by the swift touch at her center, at her sex, before she shivered yet again, hovering upon the point of such a feverish boiling sensation, a mess of disheveled hair and flushed, rosy skin.

Fang leaned in to whisper against her ear, and then she nipped it. "Lightning..."

Lightning drew in her next with a silent shudder, and she felt her entire body tighten, before her back arched up, curving her spine, all due to the fingertips that claimed her. It began so quickly, just a deep ripple of heat inside her belly, a tensing sensation, the sudden whimper that shivered all throughout her throat, before Fang pushed her so gently past the edge, coaxing her into such ecstasy.

She felt herself shatter, felt her voice crack and tip over, before she curled, drowning beneath the sharp ripples that coursed all throughout her blood. And they moved together, falling so very quiet again, yet Lightning still clenched and trembled there against the sheets, almost jittery, caught in the very midst of her high, so much that she felt her own shaking voice break the silence, so warm, filled with that utterly encircling feeling.

"That's it..." Fang hummed and leaned in to kiss Lightning's chin. "I've got you, sweetheart."

Lightning's eyes slipped shut of their own will, yet she tipped her head back up for one last kiss, just a soft brush of her own lips against Fang's mouth, before she slowly curled over on her side.

"Still feeling that?" Fang gradually settled down as well, whispering her words against the pillow. "It's good, right?"

Lightning nodded without a word, and she reached out to hold Fang's hand, still trembling ever so slightly.

"That's good." Fang stroked her thumb against each of Lightning's knuckles. "Not bad for a first time?"

Lightning scoffed so quietly that Fang could barely hear it. That barrier of exhaustion was back there again, the weariness of such a late hour, yet Fang just hummed with her amusement, before she let her eyes slip shut as well, slowly drifting off into sleep.

* * *

Yet it was daytime again before they even realized it. The morning light spilled in through the windows, though the early hours passed by in a blur, from a brief breakfast to quick showers, until they were finally ready to leave.

And they were gone before the noon arrived, running far from the bounds of the city itself, out into wide stretch of grassland that ran right beside the intercity highway, just a pair of wolves in the wind.

Fang swore that she ran faster than she had ever gone before, racing to keep up the pace with Lightning, who almost seemed like a demon of swiftness. The grass felt so very dry beneath their paws, and the wind was sharp against their breath, within the thin mist of the open stretch of plains, so cold and chilly beneath the autumn sky.

It was nearly noon when they caught the first scent, when their instincts took over and brought them back to a full run, dashing on after the lone creature in the fields, the solitary stag who had since roamed far away from the forests. He looked old, a mighty beast nearing the end of his prime, ideal for one last, perfect chase.

Fang felt her heart beat so soundly inside her chest, so very lithe and dark, so streamlined, a natural runner, thought she was more suited to stamina than to speed. Lightning, on the other hand, excelled at sprinting, so she kept herself a bit behind in the chase, ready to dart on ahead at the very moment when she was needed. They were both so much larger than any natural wolf, swifter and smarter, speaking in mere gestures of their ears and tails, of paws that struck down against the sprawling plains.

And it began faster than Fang might have thought, just a single jump, a deep, ferocious bite to the back haunches of the deer, before she let her entire jaw go slack, watching how the creature tried to keep on running despite the pain, before a single slip of that pace brought it crashing right down into its fate.

Lightning suddenly surged, a white blur within the cold wind, a mass of snarling teeth and savage jaws, swiftly leaping out to snap right down at the throat of the stag, to rip it and sink her fangs into such vulnerable flesh, until the chase itself came tumbling to the ground. Fang rose up as well, launching herself there to bite down on the back of the deer's neck, gripping and sinking her teeth down into the spine, killing it just as quickly as she could.

It had been years since the two of them hunted together, nearly five long years of separation, yet when they moved in to sate themselves on the results of their shared kill, it almost felt like nothing had changed at all.

* * *

The cold days moved on in a swirl of falling leaves and the scent of fresh mushroom soup, and of venison served in both seasoned strips and entire steaks of meat, yet between the four of them, the refrigerator was soon empty of such a prize.

It was on a chilly weekend day that Lightning came walking back to the apartment with a small grocery trolley in her grip, pulling it behind her by the folding metal handle. She had bought the necessary items, of course, enough food for all of them, extra soap for washing dishes, even a few bags of candy for the approaching holiday, yet above it all, four large orange pumpkins stood above all the rest.

Serah's face looked so very bright when Lightning revealed them to her, all while putting the groceries away. And it wasn't very long before all four of them found themselves with a big bowl of pumpkin seeds and thin knives in their grips, carving out various designs into the hollow vegetables.

Fang slowly etched out a basic pattern into the outer surface of her own pumpkin. "See, you just have to be careful with it... Don't cross the lines and it won't fall to pieces."

Vanille rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah, but then you'll end up with something boring!"

Serah smiled to herself, gently carving out a cute little design into each side of her own piece of art, before she glanced over at what Lightning was making. It wasn't finished yet, merely a proof of the concept, though the sharp, yet graceful edges of a branching design were already quite visible there, those unmistakable forks of electricity.

"It isn't boring." Fang narrowed her eyes at the pattern she had made, just a bit simpler than she would normally like, yet distinctive all the same. "At least it isn't a jumbled mess..."

Vanille stuck her tongue out at Fang. "Oh, you're just jealous!" She almost squeaked with a sudden laugh when Fang roughly ruffled her hair, a scuffle that nearly overturned both of their pumpkins, but Vanille managed to dart away before any damage could be done. "But yours is still pretty, Fang."

Fang leaned back towards her own pumpkin. "It's what I wanted it to look like, at least..." She slowly traced her fingertips over the curved lines that made up the bestial design, an imaginary animal with long teeth and sharp, hooked talons. "But it'll probably look a lot better in the dark."

The night arrived with little more than a whisper, yet the sounds of those out for the holiday soon filled the air with hushed excitement, before the darkness fully fell upon the city of such pale white trees.

Four pumpkins flickered on beside the outer wall of the apartment, while a folding chair stood there with a bowl of candy on the seat, next to a paper sign that read: _'_ _ _Take one or two, please.__ _'_ , though there was also a line of text written in rather different handwriting, penned there in bright red marker, which stated: _'_ _ _Take more than that and we'll sic our entire damn zombie army on you__ _.'_

And those bright orange pumpkins, lit by the candlelight within, there was one that had a glowing bolt of electricity, and then another that showed a beast with rather impressive fangs and claws, and then one that had a design that looked far too intricate to have ever been carved into the side of a pumpkin, yet it didn't fall apart. And there was also a pumpkin that had been carved with the faces of playful kittens, of tiny pawprints as well as smaller, more traditional pumpkin designs, along with two other cats who sat together with their tails intertwined.

Yet within the apartment itself, all cozied up in the living room, the four of them sat there beneath the low lights, watching a certain movie on the television.

"I don't know how you stand it." Lightning fought the urge to scoff at such a sight. "They keep calling them _werewolves_... And why the hell is he still wearing pants? They should've torn right off after he changed."

Serah made a soft shushing sound from where she was sitting upon the floor, utterly enraptured in the rather tearful scene between a waify human and a wolf-man.

"It's just _stupid_." Lightning lowered her voice, before she leaned back to sit next to Fang, all curled up on the couch. "They make dumb movies about us and still want to kill us at the end of the day..." She almost grumbled, even when Fang slowly stroked a hand through her hair. "They could at least get the facts right."

Vanille also sat there beside the coffee table with a bit of candy in her grip, and she slowly narrowed her eyes at the way the seams in the werewolf costume were all too apparent. But she also kept very silent, devoting her full attention to the sudden scene where the townsfolk abruptly started to chase after the woman and the wolf with pitchforks and bright torches.

Lightning stifled a low hiss between her teeth, before she reached for two of the unopened bottles on the coffee table, which were resting there beside a small pile of candy. "Fang."

Fang glanced away from the television. "Yeah?"

"Pumpkin ale." Lightning leaned back against the sofa, holding up a bottle opener. "It might just make this movie bearable..."

Fang merely smirked, but she took a long, grateful sip after Lightning handed her a bottle, before they both settled back down against the sofa. It was a night that belonged to such creatures, to the lycans, to the fear of darkness and the night, a time to embrace such things as one's own, and Fang found herself holding Lightning very close.

And as the sounds of the night grew even louder all around them, though somehow more distant within their ears, Lightning moved to rest her head upon Fang's shoulder.

* * *

He walked in a set worn clothes, in shoes with large holes, the sort of fare that he had found inside a stray donation bin. They had likely not been meant to be browsed upon, but who else could need it more than he did? His own clothes were long gone, and his backup supplies were lost with the rest of his things, abandoned out there in the woods from back when he was hunted. At least the jacket had a rather wide hood, and the fabric still smelled okay, enough that it might even be able to mask his own natural scent.

Hope watched how the city bloomed to life beneath the holiday, deep within the night of Hallow's Eve, a time of costumes, laughter, and free treats. He couldn't help but accept whatever he was offered; it was free, after all, and he had no money to speak of, not since he'd fled the woodlands with so many bleeding cuts, fresh wounds from the gunfire. He could still feel the aches, even in his human form, but he forced himself to ignore it, even when a sudden blast made him freeze up with a silent gasp in his throat, and then swiftly whirl around, making both his breath and his heartbeat quicken to an utterly painful pace.

A lone firecracker sparkled there in the street with a deep orange glow, sounding off with a noise that was far too close to that of a gunshot, yet the people all around him merely gasped in awe. Hope just stood there, gazing at it with such feral eyes, with golden eyes, before he realized that someone else was staring at him.

"Sweet costume." It was a young man, likely no older than himself. "Love the _teeth_ , man! A vampire, right..?"

Hope's gaze flickered off to the side, towards the person who stood there in a decorative mask.

"You alright?" A set of human eyes peered back at him from beneath the wild visage of a beast. "It's just a firecracker."

Hope slowly nodded, before he inched away, stepping back into the crowds, before he swiftly darted off towards the closest alleyway he could find, deep into the darkness of the night. And he soon found himself just crouching there, cradling his head in his hands, wondering whether or not he wanted to laugh out loud or simply cry.


	8. Chapter 8

Moonlight drifted in from the window panes, slowly spreading across the little room, passing over the cabinets, the bedside table, eventually the bed itself.

During the days that followed the recent holiday, the windows were kept tightly shut just to keep out the blustering cold, all while those first few hints of frost began to make themselves known in the darkness. The blankets were drawn rather high, enough to ward off the chill of the autumn night, concealing a certain pair of lycans with a sense of safety and warmth, where soft voices mixed in and brushed against each other.

Fang slowly smiled at the feeling of Lightning's strong arms around her waist, while her own limbs mimicked the gesture, holding her very close. "Friday, tomorrow."

"Yeah." Lightning almost sounded as if she was already dozing off, all curled up there beneath those fluffy blankets. "And _you_ have a birthday coming up."

Fang nearly wanted to roll her eyes, to just toss the entire idea away with a sigh, but Lightning suddenly pressed their foreheads even nearer to one another, before she slowly kissed the height of Fang's left cheekbone.

"I know you don't like celebrating it." Lightning moved to murmur her words against Fang's closest ear. "I'm not even fond of my own birthday... But you know how happy it makes them; it would mean a lot if you were okay with this."

Fang gradually wrapped her arms a bit tighter around Lightning's waist.

"Is is alright with you?" Lightning could feel the solid warmth of Fang's entire body, and she savored the comfort it brought with each steady breath she took. "I'll tell them to back off if you don't want-"

"It's alright." Fang slowly nuzzled a bit closer, before she lowered her voice to a much softer whisper. "It can be fun, you know, just feels strange to me."

Lightning fought back a tiny smile. "Good... Or you'd just be getting your presents later on for Yuletide."

Fang's eyes widened slightly; no matter how strange it felt to celebrate her own date of birth, no other holiday in Cocoon seemed quite as unusual as the tradition of Yuletide. It was a pagan celebration, at least originally, one that had been practiced throughout many ancient cultures, even the ones far older than her own homeland of Gran Pulse. It was known as a time of both great reverence and revelry, of drinking and feasting, of dancing around a decorated burning log, and of sacrificing wild beasts to the gods, perhaps even the act of participation in a more earthly version of the mythical Wild Hunt. But of course, Cocoon was hardly ever a country to take part in the more barbaric side of things, and the tradition itself had seemingly morphed away from such primal roots into a more gentle, modern holiday. There were still the old things, of course, rather lavish meals and public parties, perhaps a winter sports competition or two, but the more private traditions, a family dinner and presents traded beneath a non-immolated tree, they were more a product of the time.

"Fang?" Lightning spoke almost too quietly for her to hear. "Asleep already?"

Fang realized that she had already closed her eyes, and she slowly opened them to see those gentle blue hues again, more than enough to make her heart twinge with affection. "No... Just thinking about Yuletide."

"We should start saving up for something special." Lightning's eyes fluttered shut when Fang kissed her forehead. "But first, Thanksgiving-"

"We won't need too much for that." Fang smiled when she felt Lightning lean up and move in, sharing the gentle kiss. "Those mashed potatoes, the other day..."

Lightning's breath halted, waiting there from where she was touching Fang's mouth. "What about them?"

"You've done something new with my recipe, haven't you?" Fang slowly smirked, and she squeezed Lightning's waist, drawing her just a bit closer than before. "You still remember those wild potatoes, don't you?"

Lightning almost shivered at the way Fang's warm voice brushed against her skin. "Of course... It was one of the best meals we could make out there."

"I almost miss it." Fang's grip tightened slightly around Lightning's waist. "Traveling out there, you know? Can't say I miss being hungry or cold, but those times when we used to-" She paused, gazing at the hazy outline of Lightning's eyes, at those faint blue colors beneath the darkness of the room. "I remember getting dinner all set up over the campfire, cutting wild vegetables together... Even skinning rabbits or deer." Fang closed her eyes again. "My mom and dad taught me that stuff, you know... How to use every bit of a kill."

Lightning slowly reached up to brush one of her thumbs against Fang's nearest cheekbone. "I don't know if we would've survived without you."

Fang's eyes flickered open again. "Light-"

"I didn't really know how to live on my own." Lightning peered at the moonlight that spilled across the fluffy bed sheets, against fabric that felt just soft enough to remind her of those pelts that Fang always traveled with. "I remember thinking: 'I have to learn everything she can teach me'... Just in case you ever got tired of traveling with us."

"Light." Fang gave Lightning a slightly scolding smile. "I don't think I'd ever get tired of you, and you know it."

"...I know I can be a real bitch sometimes." Lightning squeezed her eyes shut, even when Fang began to caress each and every soft curve of her jawline. "You know how it feels whenever you have something so important to protect? When it feels like you've had it good for too long, that something out there, fate, karma, whatever the hell else... Like it's ready to creep up and get you again."

Fang leaned in to whisper against Lightning's ear. "You're not a bitch."

"I almost told you to leave." Lightning reached down to hug Fang's waist again, just tight enough to anchor her there. "It's that territorial sense... When you just snap and try to protect whatever you have, no matter who's approaching it."

"It was just unexpected." Fang slowly twined her fingertips into Lightning's hair, trying to soothe those nerves away, gently stroking at her scalp. "And we're more like wolves than you might think... My mom used to talk about those instincts, the spirit gifts."

"'Spirit gifts'?" Lightning nestled her chin against one of Fang's shoulders. "Pagan stories, right?"

Fang nodded. "She'd talk about the blood of the wolf, how we all used to be the same animal back in the beginning... A little bit like evolution." She slowly leaned aside to roll over against her back, gently drawing Lightning with her so that they were laying vertical together, with Fang resting just beneath. "She'd tell me about all of the old legends, all of the pagan gods... The god of wolves, he also watches over lycanthropes, if you believe in any of that stuff." Fang smiled when Lightning leaned away to look her in the eye. "I can't say I'm too faithful to it, but they're great stories to tell over a campfire."

"Like the Hallow's Eve legends?" Lightning felt herself relax beside the steady rhythm of Fang's breathing, almost enough to lull her to sleep. "Monsters and humans, witches and beasts..."

"Well, that's more of a Cocoonic thing." Fang reached up to tuck back a lock of stray hair behind Lightning's ear. "Around northeastern Gran Pulse, they have Samhain."

Lightning's eyebrows quirked at that. "'Samhain'..?"

Fang nodded. "A day of fairies, fey spirits, souls of the departed dead... Mom was always really reverent of that one." She suddenly smiled a rather warm, crooked grin. "We'd always leave out goodies and candles for 'gran' and 'gramp' overnight, even if I'd never met either of them, myself... And also for 'great gran', and 'great gramp', her own grandparents." Fang kept smiling, thinking back to her own little treats that she'd been given upon such days, perhaps a bit of chocolate from a trading post or something just as special, often a bit of honeycomb or whichever sweet fruits had survived throughout the early mountain frosts. "But it also marks a special time, a short couple of weeks when the boundaries between earth and otherwise... When they're supposedly more easy to cross." Fang leaned up to kiss the very tip of Lightning's nose. "When the wolf god ventures back to roam the earth, bringing blessings to his people."

Lightning's eyes crossed briefly at the sudden touch on her nose, before she moved them back to peer at the mirth in Fang's expression, likely from those old memories of home. "You really think something like that could exist? Lycanthropy can't even be fully explained by modern science..."

"I'll tell you this, Light." Fang gently hugged Lightning's waist again. "My parents believed in it, and they taught me everything I know about living off the land... And in a place like that, out in the wilderness, it really does feel like you're not always alone." She caught a subtle glint of apprehension in Lightning's eyes. "Not in a bad way, just enough to make those stories feel a little more real."

Lightning slowly leaned forward to rest her head beneath Fang's chin. "Would you... Do you remember the stories?"

Fang nodded. "It's getting late... And we've got work tomorrow."

"Just one?" Lightning's voice barely even reached through the darkness, through the midnight air that promised of even colder nights beyond, of far more than just a mere autumn chill. "Tell me about the spirit gifts."

"Well... That's a story from up north, way further than Gran Pulse." Fang took a moment to yawn against the shadows, and she felt her own eyes slip shut once more, even when a certain tale began to leave her lips, whispered out into the night. "There was once a mother who'd lost her pups to the cold of winter..." She opened one eye to gaze at where Lightning was resting. "This was back when humans and animals supposedly weren't any different."

Lightning nodded silently.

"Alright... She mourned them for many long seasons, but her mate, he'd also gotten lost during the winter storms." Fang felt her grip tighten slightly around Lightning's waist again. "She could have no other children without him, no pack of her own... And her own sire and dam, her father and mother, in the old words, they were both far, _far_ away, so she had nobody else to keep her company in those coming years." Fang stared up at the pale moonlight on the ceiling. "She was all alone, she had to survive without any help, even against the threats of the natural world... Sickness and famine, wandering coyote packs, even birds of prey, they all wanted her out of their territory." Fang took a very deep breath. "So, she called out for Fenrir."

Lightning's eyes flickered open in the darkness once more, for she remembered those old tales that Fang had once told to both Vanille and Serah, the legends of the great wolf, a massive presence within the highland lore.

"And Fenrir, he heard her pleas for mercy... So he sent one of his twin sons to the world, Hati, who chases the moon." Fang smiled rather warmly again. "And Hati, he saw the moonlight itself within her pelt, so he took pity on her by teaching her how to howl, among other things." Fang slowly traced her fingertips against the curve of Lightning's back, just above the soft flannel surface of her nightshirt. "So she called, and _called_ , and eventually, she found her mate again... And with those gifts she'd been given, the instincts to keep her family safe, her next few pups didn't die from the cold."

Lightning's eyes slowly slipped shut again.

"The spirit gifts... That little snarl in the back of your throat when a threat gets too close." Fang's mind drifted back to the memory of such sleek rifles and the sound of rumbling tires. "The prickle in your neck when you sense something's wrong, even the way you start to feel more at ease around your own kind." She breathed in the scent of Lightning's hair, still sweet with recent shampoo. "We all have them, Light... We _all_ act bitchy when something feels out of place."

A long silence passed between them, a quiet moment within the darkness, and Lightning only spoke when Fang caressed along her spine again.

"You don't feel out of place to me." Lightning hummed almost silently against Fang's lower shoulder. "Not anymore."

Fang kept quiet for a long while, just listening to the sounds of wind against the window panes, to the gentle sound of Lightning's breath, and to the low rhythm of her heartbeat, thrumming gently beside Fang's own chest. The dark leaves fell so silently within the distant forests, beneath the light of the moon, and Fang closed her eyes just to imagine them, along with the deep tunnel that she'd been digging so steadily beneath them, a haven in the woods. Should the worst come to pass, she thought to herself, at least they would have somewhere else to retreat... She wouldn't let herself lose her own partner within the gathering cold, beneath the unforgiving chill of winter.

"I'm glad." Fang finally spoke her words in a soft whisper, even if she knew Lightning had already fallen asleep. "With you... With you, I'm home."

* * *

There was little shelter to be found in the streets, yet in the places that only vagrants could find, little nooks and crannies within the city that were much too cold for those without thick jackets, or perhaps a heavy coat of fur... A crumbling old building, perhaps, one with a roof that had nearly fallen down to the floor itself, layering it beneath chunks of mossy wood and long metal beams.

He stood there as a beast again, carrying his clothes between his teeth. It was simply too risky to sleep in his human form, just in case anyone spotted him without his knowledge of them doing so, someone who might have just realized that he was not in fact, a stray dog. His mother had taught him that, while they traveled the land in search of respite; she once told him of those who sought to eliminate their kind, those who knew that lycans would likely appear as drifters, those without homes of their own. And once he had set his clothes down within a shaded corner of the creaking rooms, he felt a snarl building itself in the back of his throat, but it was only a mouse who darted out from the shadows, not the barrel of a gun. His ears pricked up at the low scuffling and the squeaks of several more rodents, but it was a far different sound that soon caught his full attention.

"Around a dozen... No, it's not exact."

Hope lowered his head, before he settled himself down against the crumbling floor of the building. He had already known it was likely that other homeless individuals were staying there, and if he kept quiet enough, they would probably leave him in peace.

"Told you she'd come through for us." The voice grew quieter, almost out of reach. "Quick as a whip... Not a bad smile, either."

Hope closed his eyes for the moment, but his nostrils suddenly flared at the scent of something rather enticing, a smell that wafted right out into the halls with the rich aroma of meat.

"At least it's warmer in here." Another voice spoke between the jitters of a shivering mouth. "Hell, I'd say it was winter already, if not for all the leaves..."

"We could still see an early snowfall." The next voice was quite deep and rugged, almost a drawling sort of tone. "This 'contact' of yours, her word is good?"

Hope felt his stomach start to growl at the wonderful, distant scent.

"Yeah, yeah, she just needs the jobs done." The first voice grew a bit clearer, though he still spoke in a rather hushed tone. "This really is our kind of place, you know? No zealots, no sneers... Just a bunch of vagrants and the rats."

Hope slowly rose to his paws, watching how the shadows danced upon the walls, cast out by the gentle firelight. He began to wander across the dusty floors, listening to the click of his claws against the cold, cracked surface of the wood.

"Woah." The second voice chattered with so many shivers again. "Someone here has a dog?"

"Lots of folks do." It was the third voice, the one with the deep, rough accent. "I was visiting... Can't remember the name of the place, but the city was big, lots of folks there, and this one bloke had a whole pack of dogs with him, kept him from getting mugged."

"Wish I had a dog." The first voice paused for a moment, before he whistled quietly. "Ey, pooch... You like chili?"

Hope felt a twinge of sharp indignity at being called a dog, even if it meant that his disguise was working. He turned to glance at the vagabonds, the people with huge backpacks that looked to be filled to the brim with odds and ends, all of their earthly belongings, along with whatever else they could strap down upon themselves.

"Ey, boy." The first man, one who looked hardly older than thirty, he whistled again, and he gently clapped one of his hands against his knee. "Think you can keep the rats away, boy?"

Hope twitched his ears at the man's words, but he knew that he couldn't glance at any of the little mouse holes without revealing his intelligence.

"Looks friendly enough." The third man glanced back at the tiny campfire, and then up at the smoke drifting out through the huge holes in the ceiling. "He's got the face of a wild one, though... Maybe a coydog."

"Nah, he's not ugly enough for coyote blood." The second man tried to stop shivering, and he pulled a rather ragged blanket a bit closer around himself. "Trust me, I've seen plenty of that ilk out west... Nasty bastards, no fear anymore, they'd sooner stalk down you and rip the skin right from your bones."

"He's way bigger than a coyote." The first man reached for one of the chipped clay bowls beside the campfire. "Some kind of shepherd? Maybe a husky mix."

"Anything out here is a mutt." The third man tipped back his wide hat to stare at Hope, peering at him with a rather discerning set of eyes, a keen gaze, though he seemed to be far older than most people would ever be if they lived out on the road. "A mutt, or a wolf mix." He slowly reached over to stir at the pot above the campfire. "Wolves used to be _gods_ , up north... But you two already know that story."

"Only a thousand times, father." The shivering man leaned back to rest against one of the walls. "It's good to have found you two again."

"Hmph." The third man, the father, he beckoned for the first man to hand him a small number of the clay bowls. "This world doesn't want us any more than we want it... But there's always hope for the future, isn't there?"

"We're together again." The first man smiled at the moon above, at the light that spilled down between the dangling beams of the roof. "We'll make it through, just like we always do."

The third man began to hand both of his sons a bowl full of food. "The world is changing, boy."

The first man just kept grinning. "The world is always changing."

Hope's ears perked up when something echoed quietly against the floor, before a bowl full of bright red food was pushed into his direction. As much as he tried to resist it, when he watched the way the three of them began to eat their own shares, along with the sheer scent of such things...

"See, he's no coyote." The first man smiled again. "Coyote wouldn't try to be polite about it."

Hope could scarcely even hear those words beyond the sounds of his own muzzle and teeth, for he was practically diving into the mix of meat and cooked beans, of peppers and sweetened tomatoes. After his previous meals of stringy waterfowl and whatever leftover Hallow's Eve treats he could scavenge, he swore that such a meal nearly tasted ambrosial.

"Certainly looks hungry." The second man's fingertips trembled against his metal spoon. "Not an easy life for his kind... What family could there be for a stray?"

The father's voice drifted off into the chill of the night. "A family beyond blood."

Though Hope didn't listen very much to what was said beyond that, for he was far too busy with scarfing down a rather tasty, and not to mention, _free_ meal. That kind of luck, he thought, it likely wasn't as common as it seemed, even if a certain other lycan had left him that package of food, all those days before.

The voices soon picked up in frequency. "She'll keep to her word, then?"

"I don't doubt it in the slightest."

And with that, with an empty bowl, with a sated stomach, with heavy limbs and a sleepy mind, Hope found himself all sprawled out beside the campfire, dozing there while the trio of men spoke long into the night.

"Then it's time for us to leave." The father rose up to his feet, and he stared at his sons for a moment. "But I believe you still have words for Skadi?"

"Yes, I won't be long." The first son smiled and stood up as well, before he lifted his belongings towards his back. "What of the pup..? He'll get cold if we put the fire out."

"I'll take care of it." The father nodded at both of his sons. "Go quickly."

And they soon left, carrying all of their things along with them, until all that was left was the eldest, along with a single leather satchel, as well as the open campfire.

"This is a lonely world for strays." The third man knelt down to gently poke Hope's forehead. "Find your pack, boy... Before the winter comes."

Yet beneath such a haze of exhaustion and relief, even when every inch of Hope's mind called out for him to react towards such a thing, to the stranger who spoke as if he knew more than he possibly should, even then, even when Hope wanted to lurch away and snarl...

"Find your father." The man peered down at him with the keen eyes of a wolf. "Those who walk alone, kid... They never last long without family."

And with that, and beneath the sudden soft warmth of an elkskin blanket, Hope felt his eyes slip shut within the dimming light of the fire, before it felt as if a ghost had left the room, wandering off into those mossy, dusty halls.

Yet when the moonlight faded, when the sleepy hours of the night drifted off into the pale morning hues, when Hope's eyes finally flickered open to see the trail of huge, dusty pawprints that led off towards the early sun, as well as the tracks that moved towards the setting moon, and then yet another, a trail in which he couldn't possibly discern the place it led to...

"I'm... Just tired." Hope tried to ignore the fact that he could still taste the strong flavor of the peppers on his tongue, nor the warmth of the blanket on his back. "I'm tired, daydreaming... Hallucinating? That _wasn't_ real." He felt a slight shiver run down his spine. "...Right?"

* * *

The morning light scattered itself across the blankets, over the cabinets and the desk that held a certain project beneath a small tarp, something that Fang wasn't yet allowed to see. Not that it bothered her very much, for Lightning wasn't one to hide anything other than something special, and with the date of Fang's own chosen birthday rapidly approaching...

Fang couldn't help but smirk at the scent of it, something so organic and strong, enough for Lightning to have cured a deerskin in the way Fang herself had taught her. Yet the scent itself, even if Lightning couldn't hide that much, Fang just couldn't tell what the hide would become by merely the scent. A blanket, perhaps? No, Fang reasoned, they already had more than enough blankets, and no matter how practical a present from Lightning often was, there was always a great amount of care put into the item itself, whether it was something homemade, or a small gift bought from the little money they used to share.

Fang slowly began to stretch out her arms beneath the rays of the morning sun, reveling in the sensation of being so close to her companion. Lightning was still sleeping, all curled up beneath the crook of Fang's neck, nestled there in utter comfort. Yet that same feeling of relaxation would swiftly fade, if only for the steadfast reliability of a certain damnable alarm clock...

A low growl worked itself through Fang's throat, but she quickly stifled it; there was no use waking up her companion before the shrill device took care of such things, and the feeling of being so near to her while she was sleeping, even for just a bit longer, it was worth not snarling at the digital cretin.

Fang could feel those soft, gentle breaths against her skin, the steady heartbeat against her own, and she felt her mind wander away towards different things, to the warmth in her heart whenever they were together in such a position. Even if many of their nights were spent speaking or merely cuddling, Fang knew that little else could compare to seeing Lightning in her more docile state, though not tamed, perhaps... _Never_ tamed, Fang decided, for the heart of the wild that thrummed so deeply within both of their chests deserved far better than that. But there was something to be said for docility, for a woman who felt so very calmed by the presence of her partner, soothed to sleep by those old stories and soft words, still just as primal as the petals of a wild rose.

'Partners', Fang mused, was that what they really were? She knew that many of the old tales spoke of lycanthropes as people who lived in the ways of the wolf, and that even such simple unions were an act of true, unbreakable love, of a permanently bonded pair, and from those faint memories of her own parents, she knew it was often an act that lasted for life.

Fang slowly began to trace one of her fingertips against the sloped curve of Lightning's shoulder, over the soft fabric of her flannel nightshirt. Were they partners, she wondered, or would Lightning want to act more in the traditions of Cocoon, within the ways of subtle courtship and further, more formal engagement? Normally, Fang would have already taken a step back from such an assumption, from the idea that they would both definitely be permanently monogamous, although, she realized, such solid trust didn't occur out of nothing. No, it was the years of watching over each other, of fending off so many different dangers, of living beneath the shadow of death, and it was the moonlit moments of brief respite when they would touch and speak so softly to each other, that was why she felt as if such things wouldn't likely ever end.

But she knew it was still too soon to jump right into the thick of the issue, and that it had only been a few weeks since they all truly started to feel like a family again. Fang sighed, though the sound eased between her lips in a rather contented way, all while she was still stroking her hand against Lightning's shoulder blades. There would be a time for sorting out such things, for going even further beyond affection and intimacy, into the reality of their relationship, if such things would truly last until then. Fang smirked to herself, and she slowly closed her eyes. Was there even any doubt? Lightning seemed to be quite genuine in her desires, and Fang knew for a fact that she only ever lied to her family if the information would do them more harm than good, though the bitter truth was hardly ever hidden, even from the younger members of their strange little group.

There was the topic of death, the reality that they would often be forced to kill their pursuers. Though Lightning spoke of it in rather plain and simple terms, she'd always been adamant to warn her younger companions that such things were utterly sinful, to be avoided at all costs. And even if Fang agreed, she knew deep in her heart that nature itself knew no sins, that death was as inevitable as the changing seasons, just another aspect of life.

Fang slowly snuggled her face against the sweet scent of Lightning's hair, into the aroma of that floral shampoo, so very fresh and calming. It was that same warmth she felt whenever Lightning fell asleep beside her, the utter trust between them, though when a certain digital alarm clock suddenly flashed to life, mere seconds from blaring into existence... Fang squeezed her eyes shut so tightly at the sudden sound, and she grumbled when Lightning stirred in her arms, waking up to hear those sharp beeps and chimes of the little device.

"Hmm..." Lightning turned over to lay against her other side, reaching out to blearily swat at the alarm. "Morning, Fang."

Fang released a wide yawn to stifle the sound of her soft, yet contented snarl. "Morning."

Lightning finally managed to switch the alarm off, before she slumped back against the bed sheets, laying there for just a brief moment of silence. "Friday..."

Fang hummed against the warm fabric of the pillows. "Best day of the week."

Lightning turned again, facing Fang from her previous side. "You want to shower first?"

"Not really." Fang reached out to touch Lightning's nearest hand, and she gently wove their fingertips together. "Unless you'd be up for sharing."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure if we could both fit."

Fang slowly waggled her eyebrows.

"I'm serious, Fang... It's like a shoebox in there." Lightning leaned in to place a brief, yet tender kiss against Fang's waiting mouth, the same gesture that she always gave her in the mornings, at least since they'd started to sleep beside each other again. "And we can't get... Distracted, before work."

Fang hummed against the warmth of Lightning's lips, into the affectionate flicks she felt upon the tip of her tongue, the almost ritualistic rhythm that they always took within the early hours. Sometimes it happened before Fang was even fully awake, when Lightning would lean in to peck one of Fang's cheeks before she left the bedroom to shower, before she'd come right back and kiss Fang awake again.

"Time to get going." Lightning felt the way that Fang's breath quickened against her mouth, a low, almost steady pant. "We can't skip work, Fang."

"I know... I know." Fang slowly untwined their fingertips. "Yeah... Have a nice shower, Light." Her breath slowed again at the sudden feeling of that rare, full smile against her own mouth, and though it was fleeting, and though Lightning meshed it right back into yet another brief kiss, Fang knew for a fact that it had definitely been there.

"Just don't fall asleep again." Lightning leaned away, looking just as stoic as she ever did, but a bit of mirth still played inside her gaze, just like the morning sunlight. "Or I'll have to wake you up."

Fang smiled to herself. "I bet you would." She watched Lightning's departure towards the doorway, and before long, she was all alone in the little bedroom, resting there beneath the tangled blankets. "Yeah, Light..." Fang closed her eyes for just a moment, yet before she could doze off again, she dragged herself out of bed, approaching the small closet near the end of the room. "Can't let you down, can I?"

Lightning's clothes felt just a bit too snug on Fang, likely due to the difference in body shape. Fang herself was a bit more muscular in some places, her shoulders and hips, for example, while Lightning's strength was rather compact, more in her arms and abdomen. It was enough that Lightning had promised to go shopping soon for some extra clothes for Fang, even though they'd almost always been able to share them in the previous years.

Fang felt herself thinking back to the days when the four of them were hardly any different, just a couple of scrawny children and teenagers out on the road. Yet the looming effects of puberty soon kicked in, and Fang had suddenly found herself standing quite a bit taller than all the rest of her friends. Lightning had grown as well, only a few inches shorter than Fang, but the contrast between them and their younger companions, such a thing made it necessary to obtain different clothing sizes, enough to keep a few backup sets just in case any lycanthropic mishaps were to occur.

The closet itself held mostly casual shirts and long jean pants, for the smaller shorts and skirts were kept in Lightning's other drawers, but Fang was much more interested in her own belongings, where Lightning had offered to share the unoccupied space between both of them. And there, near the end of the closet rack, Fang soon found her own clothes for the day, a simple work shirt and some rather thick pants, just warm enough to keep away the autumn chills.

"Alright." Fang set the clothing down on the edge of Lightning's bed, yet when she looked back at that small tarp upon the desk, where a certain project was being kept hidden, it was all she could do not to sneak a quick peek. "Damned birthdays..." She yawned, before she slowly wandered off towards the doorway, but she paused for a moment to look at the shelf beside Lightning's desk, the place that housed all of her special things.

And there, there were the first few baby teeth that Lightning had ever lost from her lycan form, tiny canine fangs that were much too interesting to discard. Beside those, there was another object that Fang immediately recognized; it was a thin, colorful bracelet that Vanille had once woven out of so many sturdy reeds and string, though it was much too small for Lightning to ever wear again.

"Kept it, did you?" Fang felt a smile tugging at her lips, and she stepped forward to peer at the other contents of the shelf. "No one can say you don't have a sentimental side..."

And there was something else there, resting amid the tiny trinkets and gifts that Lightning had collected over the years; Fang looked upon the fractured knife, something that had finally broken over the many years of use, even with such diligent care. She remembered it so clearly, the day she'd placed it right in Lightning's hands and taught her how to properly skin a rabbit, reciting the way that her own parents had shown her how to survive. It had been Fang's own blade, her own skinning knife, yet the two of them shared it almost every day, whether it was being used to clean a kill or to merely pry open a stubborn can of food, or even to fend off certain threats. And right beside the knife, Fang could see various bits of carved bone and other items from their old kills, a few woven bands of soft leather and other useful things, like a spoon carved out of an elk bone, and a brush made out of chiseled wood and the bristly hairs of a wild boar. They were all things that could easily be replaced with modern conveniences, yet it seemed as if Lightning had kept them, all the same.

"That's my girl." Fang gently lifted up one of the wilderness tools, gazing at the way it wasn't even the slightest bit dusty. "Can't tame a wolf... You can't hide yourself away, Light." She traced her fingertips closer and closer towards the edge of a different knife, a dagger made out of bone. Fang's grip lingered near the sharpness, just beside the carving of a slim, forked lightning bolt. "No shame in being what you really are."

And then, when Fang slowly set the knife back down, she caught sight of that shiny ammonite shell, the gift that she herself had added towards the collection.

"Glad you like it." Fang felt the warmth in her heart grow even stronger, for the little shell looked to have been recently polished and cleaned like all of the other objects, placed there between the trinkets that Lightning must have held so close. "Someday I'll show you the beach I found it in... If you want."

She knew that the chances of such a thing were growing slimmer with each passing day, and she knew very well of the danger that came from crossing over the border again. But Fang merely closed her eyes, and she smiled to herself, hoping that such a vacation might someday become feasible, and that she could bring Lightning to see those high mountains, the jungles, the sprawling beaches that ran for miles without end.

Fang leaned away from the shelves, and she made her way over towards the door, where she could already hear soft footsteps from further out in the hall. "Morning..."

"Morning, Fang!" Serah called out from the kitchen. "Get over here, birthday girl."

Fang nearly rolled her eyes. "Not for a few more days, kiddo." She walked past the bathroom that held the sounds of a running shower, through the short hallway that led towards the kitchen itself. "Sunday, you know."

Serah smiled from where she was starting up the stove. "I _know_... I've still got to finish up your present."

Fang tried not to yawn. "Hm." She moved to sit down on of the kitchen chairs, still in her pajamas. "You don't have to get me anything."

Serah tried her best to glower at Fang. "You always get _us_ presents on our birthdays."

Fang smirked, leaning back in the chair. "Never said I wasn't a hypocrite."

Serah rolled her eyes at Fang, before she turned back towards the stove. "Oh, _sure_... Well, I'm supposed to keep you distracted while Lightning takes Vanille to get you a present after work today."

Fang quirked an eyebrow at that, but she merely reached for the stray newspaper from the edge of the kitchen table, which wasn't even unfolded yet. "You don't need to distract me; I won't try to tag along with them."

"That's good." Serah was soon stirring at something in a plastic bowl. "It'll be _fun_ , you know... Birthdays are to celebrate people."

Fang slowly opened up the newspaper. "Celebrating my existence just seems like a weird concept."

"Does it?" Serah stopped what she was doing near the stove, and she turned to try and meet Fang's gaze. "Fang, you know... You must know how much you've done for us, right?" She kept her voice soft and gentle, almost a coaxing tone. "We're _family_ , aren't we? It just means that we want to show you how much you matter to us."

Fang slowly chewed her bottom lip, trying to peer at anything but those puppy-dog eyes, which were far too genuine for her to merely shrug off.

"If you hadn't found us..." Serah tried her best to smile. "You taught us both so much, you know? Light and I, even if she could hunt things, she had no idea how to really take care of anyone." She leaned back against the kitchen counter. "You taught us that, Fang... You taught us how to really be a family."

Fang looked up from the newspaper. "How to be a pack, you mean."

Serah tried not to glance away. "Lightning says we aren't wolves, so do you, sometimes."

"That's because Lightning doesn't want to be one, not entirely." Fang listened to the muffled sounds of the shower, to the drumming patter of water. "Lycans, were _wolves_ , whatever you call it... I know we're human, Serah, but it's not all we are."

"It's still kind of weird to think about." Serah turned back to the stove, where she dipped a few slices of thick bread into the sweet-scented mixture in the bowl. "I get the dreams a lot, you know... And sometimes I wake up with claws and a pelt."

"You're just more in tune with it." Fang turned to another page of the newspaper. "My mom used to say that the deep dreams were visions of the otherworld, that it meant we were walking through there in our sleep." She glanced up at the kitchen windows, at the gentle sunlight trickling in. "Mom was a highland druid, even if her faith was more focused on the northern gods... And dad used to live in the jungle, down from the mountains."

Serah began to place the dampened slices of bread against the heated skillet. "I remember you said your mom's family was from the north."

"That's right, good memory." Fang looked over at Serah, and then back down at the newspaper. "I look more like my dad, but my mom, she worshiped both branches of the local pagan sects, the north and the south." Fang listened to the sounds of the sizzling food, and she sniffed at the sweet scent of both cinnamon and vanilla. "Now, the southern gods were all over the place, scattered around with anyone who could remember them, but the northern gods, the _big_ ones, they're what you'd call... More 'friendly' to lycans, so she'd always hone in on those."

"I remember your stories." Serah smiled at Fang, looking back up from the stove. "Fenrir, Hati, Skoll..."

"Wolf gods." Fang glanced back at Serah with a toothy grin. "Their stories are always the best."

"Maybe you can tell us one of those instead of a birthday song." Serah moved to flip over the slices of bread with a spatula. "I'll admit, it's always a little embarrassing to be sung to... Even if it's fun to sing."

Fang snorted quietly. "We're all hypocrites, Serah, no shame in that."

"I guess so." Serah looked up when the sounds of water faded off into silence. "You'd better get showered before I finish with breakfast."

Fang nodded, before she rose back up to her feet. "Thank you, Serah."

Serah glanced over at Fang again. "For what?"

"Oh... A lot of things." Fang lingered in the doorway for a brief moment, between the kitchen and the hall. "Making breakfast every day, keeping me in the loop, lately... We're family, like you said."

Serah smiled as she looked back at the stove. "Lightning doesn't ever have time to make breakfast like this, not with work..." She flipped the bread once again, checking to see if it was fully cooked. "I just do what I can to make sure she eats well in the morning."

"You're a real good sister, Serah." Fang looked over at the door of the bathroom, which soon opened to reveal Lightning herself, who still looked a bit damp from the shower, though she was wrapped in a rather large towel. "Hey, Light."

"Bathroom's all yours." Lightning quickly sniffed at the sweet scent in the air, before she walked on over towards her own bedroom. "Tried to leave you enough warm water."

"Appreciate it." Fang smiled softly, gazing at the darker color that tinged Lightning's hair, a deeper shade of pink that only ever revealed itself whenever she'd recently bathed. "Just don't steal my breakfast while I'm in there..."

Lightning shot Fang a look of somewhat mirthful disbelief, before she disappeared into her room.

And Fang smiled, turning towards the residual heat of the bathroom, longing for the feeling of hot water upon her own skin, just to help her wake up for the day. She knew that she'd be lying to herself if she said the work wasn't taking a toll in her, as the manual labor was already tiring her out just as much as Lightning often seemed. While couldn't deny that it always made her heart skip whenever Lightning's eyes lit up at the extra money to deposit, enough to ease both of their worries away, Fang still knew, as she always did, that there had to be a tipping point.

There would come a day, she thought, while she readied herself to shower, there would be a day when the monotonous work grew too much to handle, when Lightning finally reached the point of no return, and Fang knew that whenever it came to pass, that it was up to her to drag them both back out from it.

Wolves slept during the presence of stability, but change was always inevitable, Fang knew that for a fact.

* * *

Serah stayed awake long enough to eat breakfast with both Fang and Lightning, but by the time they had departed for work, she found herself wandering back towards her own bed, after taking care of the dishes, of course. She'd left a plate of the cooked cinnamon toast in the refrigerator for Vanille, as she always woke up a bit later during the weekdays, but Serah herself had already eaten her share, and the sheer earliness of the morning made her practically collapse back into bed.

How Lightning managed it every day, she might never know, not when the workday itself lasted from waking up at six in the morning, arriving around six-thirty to seven, five hours until lunch, then another five hours, until she usually returned home around five, or even six at night. Ten hours, Serah mused, it was ten hours that the world stole her sister away, a time that made her return there with such weariness and exhaustion, but it was the price they both paid for the roof above their heads.

Within the morning light, Serah gradually realized that she was gripping so tightly at her pillow, trying not to curse at it, no matter how grateful she was of Lightning's sacrifice. Her own big sister, dropping out of school before she could even learn much more than how to read and write, having to survive on whatever else Serah could teach her; it made her heart stir with something that felt just like rage, but it was an increasingly fragile thing. She simply couldn't lash out like they did, not in a way that didn't make her look like a mere child, and Serah quickly learned to stifle such things inside herself, to gently try and coax Lightning into an easier life... Perhaps taking each Saturday off was a decent start.

She gently sighed against her pillow, before she slowly rolled over to gaze at her room, at the care that Lightning had once put into helping her decorate it. The walls were painted in such soft hues, peachy colors that made Serah feel safe from the world beyond, and the ceiling itself was also a rather calming tone, just like the clouds above. She had several bookshelves, a big desk for her schoolwork, and storage cabinets that could hold anything from her own clothes to different college projects. There was even the display that she had once made for the Gapra historical fair, Serah had been sure to keep that; it took several nights of research and precise handiwork to make it look utterly professional, and with Lightning's help, they'd finished it on the very last night before the festival.

Serah slowly sat up on the bed, remembering how Lightning's eyes had shone with such pride during the presentation, yet the shadows still lurked beneath them, just another reminder that the cost of a college tuition-

She hissed sharply through her teeth, and she clutched her hands against her head, trying to will away all of the guilt, the deep, nagging knowledge in the back of her mind that Lightning loved her enough to toss away her own future, all because of that base instinct of devotion. They were truly a family, Serah had known it back when her mother was taken by disease, she knew that Lightning realized someone else had to step up, that someone was needed to commit such things in order to care for the smallest of their little pack, no matter how reluctant she was to admit their own dual natures.

They _were_ _wolves_ , Serah thought, even if it felt like they were human. Lycanthropes couldn't truly live as humans, not entirely, not when it felt like her own fingertips would burst at any moment into claws, not when her teeth stung so sharply against the tip of her tongue, long and feral and ready to bite down upon whatever was harming Lightning in such a way... But she couldn't kill exhaustion, and she couldn't attack Lightning's place of work, she couldn't howl for her to return home, couldn't call out for them both to run away from their current lives. Yet Fang was there, she'd ventured back from a place of such freedoms, and Vanille could help ease away the amount of work at home, as well. Her own family, Serah thought to herself, a family beyond blood, a pack forged from the fires of compassion.

It was only a bit later in the day, when Serah found herself stepping down from the city bus yet again, walking within a swirl of colorful leaves and the crisp autumn wind, it was only then that she finally smiled, remembering the way that Lightning had smirked at Fang from across the kitchen table. A warm breakfast saw them both in better spirits, and the topic of Fang's own birthday, no matter how much she liked to act so grumpy about it...

Serah quickly realized that she'd been wandering around the college grounds for a moment or two, and she turned to approach the small crowd at the front doors, where she caught sight of a familiar face among a sea of so many strangers.

Yet as she approached, she realized that within the time that she hadn't seen him, he must have put in more than a bit of effort into looking more presentable; Snow Villiers, even with the same worn blue scarf hooked to his belt, his appearance was anything but scruffy. He wore clothes that looked rather fresh and ironed, not quite so dusty or stained with oil or dirt, yet there was still quite a bit of wildness to his appearance. His hair in particular, even though it seemed much softer and well-brushed, it was still just as spiky and rugged as the mane of a lion, or perhaps his own alternate nature. A thin bit of stubble still lingered on his chin and jawline, though it was trimmed down to a much more orderly degree.

And Serah smiled, adjusting her backpack to rest a bit higher against her shoulders. "Look at you, Villiers."

Snow glanced up from a small stack of papers on his lap, and he smiled back at her. "Serah."

"You look like you've got places to be..." Serah walked over towards the stairwell that Snow was sitting on. "I haven't seen you in classes, lately."

"Yeah." Snow smirked and scratched at the back of his neck. "Lots of work in the shop, you know, jobs that need doing... Had to cut class a few times just to keep up."

Serah fought the urge to frown at him, and she sat down against the stairs as well. "Education is important."

"Yeah, I know it, too..." Snow leaned back on the metal railing of the outdoor stairway. "It just doesn't pay the rent."

Serah did frown that time, yet it wasn't in a scolding way. "If you need any help catching up, you only have to ask."

Snow suddenly peered at her with that curious gaze, so much like his namesake, yet despite the fact that his eyes looked like such deep blue ice, they didn't seem cold at all. "Don't worry about it, Serah; you've got your own classes to handle." He smiled at her again. "Big dummy like me... I'd only slow you down."

Serah scowled at him, but the look in her eyes was only playful. "I was hoping to maybe take a few beginner's teaching courses, next semester... I could use someone to lecture."

Snow's smile widened slightly. "You want to be a teacher?"

Serah tried not to sigh at the thought of it. "It might not be practical at this point... But maybe someday."

"Not practical?" Snow placed his papers back down inside his shoulder bag. "You'd need extra training for something like that, right?"

Serah nodded. "A teaching degree, classroom experience... I'd be better off finding something else to help out with the bills in the meantime." She looked back over the grounds, at the leaves that were swirling all around them in the wind. "My sister, she's just been working so _much_ the past few years, taking care of the income."

Snow kept quiet for a while, gazing at the midmorning sky. "You and your sister, you said you live together?"

Serah nodded, and she lowered her voice down within the crowd of loitering students, though she had a feeling that they were all far more involved in their own conversations than to listen to her words. "Our parents, they aren't... We have a few friends living with us now, but we've been alone for a very long time." She hugged her knees against herself, gently resting her feet on the step beneath the one she was sitting on. "Lightning takes care of bringing in the money, and I do a lot of everyday stuff... Cooking, housework, and she helps out as much as she can, but she's always so... _Tired_ , whenever she gets home." Serah's gaze went distant, peering up at the autumn sunrise. "It wasn't always like this, back when we wandered around with our friends."

Snow smiled again. "Now _that_ sounds like the life."

Serah spoke in an even quieter whisper. "Not when you have to search for your next meal every day."

"Yeah, that'd probably be a deal-breaker..." Snow tried to keep his tone upbeat, just gentle enough to bring back a sense of levity. "Unless you had hunting equipment, of course." He smiled at her again, just a quick flash of his teeth, that hidden meaning between fellow lycanthropes.

Serah looked back at him with a tiny smirk. "Just as long as you can find something to hunt."

And far above, the early chimes of the campus bells rang out over the grounds, and many of their fellow students began to wander up the stairs, towards the university itself.

"Which class do you have first today?" Serah stood up again, and she adjusted her backpack against her shoulders. "I've got sociology."

Snow chuckled a bit, and he rose up to his feet as well. "You won't see me there, not exactly my forte."

And with the movement between both of them, Serah suddenly realized just how tall Snow was, for she'd only ever seen him at close range while he was sitting down. Her eyes widened more than a bit at the sheer difference in their heights.

Snow glanced down at the air of surprise in her gaze. "You okay?"

Serah nodded. "Yeah, just... How tall are you, exactly?"

Snow smirked again, turning to make his way up the stairs. "Six foot seven."

Serah slowly walked after him across the stairwell, up towards the wide double doors of the university. "And here I am, five four..."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Snow glanced back over his shoulder. "I won't even call you short stuff."

Serah narrowed her eyes at him with just the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. "And I won't call you a behemoth..."

Yet Snow's smile only widened, so playful and warm. "Oh, _ouch_."

"Sticks and stones." Serah smiled as well, gazing up at the doors ahead. "Can't have a wolf without claws, can you?"

Snow almost seemed to pause at her blatant choice of metaphor, but he kept walking forward to avoid giving both of their identities away. "Yeah... But I'd say they have much sharper teeth."

* * *

The day moved on with the crash of the ocean waves, with the crisp breeze that traveled up from the sea. Lightning took a moment to rub her hands together, warming them up beneath the surface of her thin gloves.

"Beautiful sky today, isn't it?" Fang drew in a very deep breath from where she was leaning against the rails of the harbor platform. "You want to have lunch on the hill?"

Lightning shook her head. "Too cold out here; let's eat in the breakroom."

"Sure." Fang took in another long breath of the salty air, savoring the scents of the ocean. "Sure keeps the blood going, doesn't it?"

Lightning nodded, already walking over to approach the office building of the shipment company. "It keeps the cold away." She soon reached for the door handle, before she held it open for Fang. "I've actually been thinking about asking for a transfer to the indoor division, at least for the winter... Even if it pays less."

Fang walked in through the narrow doorway, savoring the warm air of the lobby. "The indoor division?"

Lightning gestured in the direction of the harbor warehouses, which stood much closer to the city itself. "Things like sorting inventory, packaging individual goods to be shipped off overseas." She walked on towards the breakroom, where she soon opened up her locker to take out a pair of paper bags. "It's not a government job, still under the same company... Not like a post office, but similar."

Fang knew from Lightning's tone that such a thing was rather fortunate for them both. "How much does it pay?"

"Not much less, but the hours are fewer... You don't earn as much per day." Lightning handed over one of the paper bags towards Fang, before she took a seat at one of the vacant lunch tables. "We'd still earn enough together, and with the holidays, we'd have more time to spend with Serah and Vanille."

Fang sat down at the table as well. "That's important."

A certain sensation drifted through Lightning's mind, perhaps the relief that they were both in agreement, or even just an appreciation of the way Fang spoke in a rather understanding tone.

"I know the money's important too." Fang stretched out her legs beneath the table. "There's no other reason you'd be breaking your back out here..." She paused to unwrap a sandwich from within the paper bag. "I just don't want to see you wearing yourself down before we can really make the most of this."

"Right, just as long as you're here, as long as you're helping-" Lightning paused as well, gazing down at the sandwich and the cookie inside her own packed lunch, a gift from none other than Serah. "I looked over the bank account the other day."

Fang glanced around at the other people who were eating in the breakroom, but none of them seemed to be paying much attention to the two of them. "And..? How's it looking?"

"Twice as good as it usually does." Lightning unwrapped her sandwich as well, before she reached down into her jacket pocket for something. "We'll have enough for more than a few Yuletide presents this year if we keep going at a pace like this." She stood up to approach a nearby vending machine, before she returned with a pair of chilled soft drinks. "Not to mention your birthday, Fang."

Fang smiled despite herself, accepting the soda from Lightning. "And is this my birthday present?"

"You wish." Lightning sat down again, and she took a small bite of her sandwich. "I have a few things in mind, and when we get home today-"

"Serah's supposed to distract me?" Fang smirked as she took a long sip of her soda. "It's fine, Light, I won't try to stop you from getting me anything."

"Vanille really wants to celebrate." Lightning started to eat the crust of her sandwich first, saving the other side of it for later, for after she'd reached the opposite edge. "I told her we'd have enough to buy you a few things, and that I'd help her pick them out and pay for it."

"That's nice of you." Fang started to eat her own sandwich as well. "Just don't go overboard, okay?"

Lightning nodded. "I won't."

"Good." Fang smiled at her from across the table. "Because if you do, I'll have to get my revenge on _your_ birthday, missy."

Lightning fought back a smirk of her own. "Even if I lock you out of my apartment?"

Fang just kept smiling, still munching at her sandwich. "You'd have to leave eventually... Or I'd toss the presents right in through your window."

Lightning rolled her eyes at that. "The landlord has insurance for vandalism." She kept quiet for a long moment, just to eat her lunch in silence, before a certain thought crossed her mind. " _'My'_ apartment... You're helping me pay the bills, now."

Fang kept very quiet as well.

"And if... Should the worst ever happen, I've already written it so that Serah inherits my assets." Lightning stopped eating for a moment, gazing down at the table. "I'm not saying that I expect it to happen, but you never know."

Fang looked right into Lightning's eyes, into the silent acceptance of such a thing, though there was still an incredibly strong fire inside, the kind that wouldn't give up so easily.

"But now, the four of us-" Lightning glanced back up to meet Fang's gaze. "I'll have to split the inheritance."

"Light..." Fang lowered her voice so that only Lightning could possibly hear it. "You're not dying on my watch."

"I don't expect to." Lightning held a certain steel to her tone, but it was restrained, and her eyes were rather gentle. "But it doesn't hurt to be prepared." She could already sense those darker feelings that Fang held, the protective air that began to move back into play at such a statement, and she realized that a change in subject would likely lighten the mood. "Of course... We could always change it so you'd have joint ownership of the apartment."

Fang's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Light?"

Lightning knew that she was treading against new ground, yet she kept her chin up, gazing right back at Fang. "You said it yourself, about us."

"Well yeah, but... Are you just kidding around, here?" Fang slowly leaned forward, and she spoke even softer than before. "It's alright if you are, but if you _aren't_ -" She tried to see if Lightning's expression was serious or not, but that faint, damnable smirk just kept flickering in and out of existence, perhaps to string her along, though those keen blue eyes still showed a certain fondness, the kind they always held when their conversations took a more teasing route. "It just seems like something that we should talk about in a more... You know, a different place."

Lightning went back to eating her lunch for a while, before she spoke again in an almost unreadable tone. "Maybe it's a suggestion."

Fang slightly narrowed her eyes, and she hummed rather quietly, gazing back at Lightning again. "Maybe you're just teasing me to gain ground from that window comment."

That tiny smirk crept back over Lightning's lips. "Break my windows and I'll break whatever you broke them with."

Fang slowly smirked as well. "Maybe I should get my own set of keys to the apartment."

"Maybe you should." Lightning glanced back down at the table. "I think I know what you're getting for your birthday."

* * *

The cold autumn wind made the colorful leaves brush against the glass windows of the lecture hall, and Serah glanced out at them, wondering just how much longer she had to wait for noon to arrive. She listened to the sounds of the trees, almost ignoring the lesson at hand, but she knew it was wasteful to daydream at such a time, so she slowly brought her attention back to the lecturer at the front of the room.

"And by this very same process of elimination..." He was gesturing at a rather complex list of numbers. "We can-"

Serah felt her thoughts drifting away again, yet no matter how many times she tried to hone back in on the arithmetic, it wasn't until the end of class that she could focus on anything at all. Mathematics might not have been very difficult for her to understand, but she just never felt the same curiosity with numbers as she did with other subjects.

She made her way through the halls, wandering towards the path that would lead her towards the cafeteria, but she paused at the sudden sight of something outside one of the windows. There was indeed a problem with stray animals on the campus, for they were rather attracted to the scavengable food in the outdoor eating areas. Yet with the growing chill in the air, many students and even the faculty chose to eat their meals inside, which left the strays without much to salvage at all.

"I'm sorry." Serah stared at the lonely little cat for a while, who peered right back at her, before it leisurely walked away from the outdoor windowsill. "I wish I could just... Take care of you all." She looked down at herself, gazing at those soft, human arms, at the fingertips that held little in the way of claws, just her own blunt nails. "Oh, just listen to me; I can barely even take care of myself."

Serah walked on towards the campus cafeteria, through the halls that echoed with bright conversations and the various bout of laughter; she remembered that it was Friday, and such places always became more raucous before the weekend. The older students, even those who were well into their adult years, they were often the more quiet types, but they also seemed to become much more lively before a break in the week. She listened to the way that they spoke, just snippets of conversations and even more laughter, and Serah found herself thinking back to her own family, and to Fang, especially. Twenty-four years old... Even if Serah suspected that Fang herself had chosen the date at random. But it didn't matter very much, age was age, even if it was a few weeks or even months away.

As she made her way towards the cafeteria, Serah found herself thinking about the present that she'd been making over the last week or so, a handmade gift to go along with the book that she had bought for Fang. But Serah wondered, would Fang really be interested in reading it? It was a fictional story, of course, just like the old tales that she used to lull them all to sleep with, the stuff of adventure, but Serah just couldn't chase away the doubts that had been filling her mind for so many days. Fang had never seemed to be one who focused upon reading before, so would it really be any different after a few years? At least Serah still had the second gift to give, just in case the novel didn't go over very well.

She soon found herself waiting in line for lunch, and Serah took a moment just to clear her thoughts, to breathe in the various scents of so many people, the students and faculty all around her. She could smell the food from each different preparation line, from cooked meals to the more simple fare, salads and plain sandwiches, but a certain scent had already caught her attention, one that wafted out from the likes of rather large metal kettles. So she waited, silently sniffing at the different people who waited beside her, detecting the normal scents of humans and various other things, soaps and deodorants, different perfumes, all so perfectly clear to the nose of a lycan, but there was one scent that she couldn't immediately interpret.

It was sweet, almost like raw sugar, but it was clearly something more refined, perhaps one of the desserts near the end of the line. Serah tried to stop her nose from twitching, and she turned her gaze to look at something else, from the groups of people already eating their meals to the wide glass windows beyond the indoor tables, the ones that led to the big cafeteria doors, where she could only see only a single individual sitting outside.

Before long, she had a bowl of hot soup on the tray in her hands, along with a bit of fresh bread from the baskets near the cashier stand, but there was also that same scent she had caught before, something that made her pause and stare at the source of it. And there they were, a tray of little cupcakes, frosted with that incredibly sweet scent, but Serah merely glanced away from them, for she knew that there would be more than enough of such treats in less than a day or two. While Lightning had agreed to help Vanille with presents, Serah herself had offered to order a cake on her way home from classes, something that she'd planned to do on that very day itself. But before that happened, she had a lunch to eat and a few more classes to attend, and she could still see a certain someone sitting outside, a man who was feeding the stray cats, someone who she recognized without even catching his scent.

Serah soon moved to open the door with her shoulder, and she felt the brisk autumn air brush swiftly against her jacket sleeves. She didn't really mind the temperature, at least not very much; the nights of sleeping outside in the wilderness had seemingly toughened her to the cold, and she felt a small smile cross her lips at the sudden sight of a big, fluffy cat. The creature was laying flat on its back atop a picnic table, purring at the person who was stroking it behind the ears, someone who Serah recognized as none other than her fellow lycan, Snow.

"They always say not to feed them." Serah held her cafeteria tray in her hands, gazing down at the fuzzy stray cat. "But it can't be an easy life without it."

Snow looked up at her from over his shoulder, before he smiled softly, still petting behind those big fluffy ears. "Yeah..." He gently tapped at the very height of the cat's forehead. "This little guy always visits me out here, but most of his friends aren't so friendly."

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Serah waited for a brief nod from Snow, before she sat down at the opposite side of the table. "It's just not often you find... Someone else like us, you know?"

Snow smiled again. "It's almost surreal; most people I meet, the ones like us, they go out of their way to have nothing to do with me."

Serah felt that same pang of apprehension inside her heart, the knowledge that Snow was rather likely an outcast due to the method of receiving his affliction; could it be possible that he didn't even know of such things?

Snow's smile widened a bit. "Guess it's just an alpha wolf thing, eh?"

And Serah drew a very deep breath, before she tried to speak just as gently as she possibly could. "Snow... Has anyone ever taught you how... How _we_ work, in society?"

Snow's expression sobered slightly, and he glanced around to make sure that they were truly alone, before he moved to eat a bit of his lunch. "No, but I think I've got the basics down."

Serah tried not to frown at the subtle uncertainty in his voice. "Snow... There are no 'alpha wolves', they don't work like that, not even in real wolf packs." She waited to see if he had anything to reply with, but he only looked at her with expectance, as if he was waiting for her to explain. "Lycans are... I think you already know what stress can do to us, but there's a big difference between being born with it and being bitten."

Snow glanced down at his left wrist, before he looked back up at Serah. "There is?"

"Yeah." Serah nodded. "I can't even remember a time when my mom didn't teach us these things... We all have to learn from a very early age how to live with people, not to reveal anything, you know?" She started to eat her own lunch, but she still spoke to Snow in quiet tones, just in case any listening ears were close by. "You've seen it in the news, right? Lycans who just go... _Crazy_ , biting and attacking; if there's any hope for us living with humans, that _can't_ happen to us."

"Yeah, I know that much, Serah." Snow tossed a bit of food aside for one of the cats. "I've never bitten anyone... It happened when I was real little, you know."

"And you never knew anyone else like you?" Serah felt her heart twinge at such a concept. "Nobody taught you these things?"

"So, wait... There's something different about us?" Snow reached over to pet one of the more friendly of the stray cats, one who was walking across the bench of the table. "Bitten and not bitten?"

Serah nodded. "Bitten tends to be... Perceived as violent, unpredictable." She slowly stirred at the bowl of warm soup, before she reached over to open up a small package of sliced fruit from her tray. "I don't even know if the disease really manifests itself in a different way, but when you hear about an attack in the news, you see it spread like a plague, bitten after bitten."

Snow seemed to ponder that for a moment, before a smile crossed his face again. "You won't see me biting anyone, Serah."

"I believe you." Serah looked back at Snow, at the gentleness in each of his actions, even if there was such strength behind his very way of moving, no doubt the power of his curse. "But maybe you shouldn't tell people that you were bitten... Not until they really get to know you."

"But that's dishonest, isn't it?" Snow shooed one of the cats away from his cafeteria tray, but he tossed it a morsel of food once it had hopped back down to the ground. "Would you still be talking to me if I'd lied to you?"

Serah could still feel the briskness of the wind on her jacket, yet the chill inside her heart was of her own making. "Snow, we _lie_ every day... We live around humans, act like we aren't lycans, and even if we _are_ human in a certain way, they think that's all there ever is to us."

"So you're saying-" Snow paused to think it over. "I shouldn't bring it up to anyone? Is it still lying if I don't mention it?"

"Snow, don't worry about it." Serah blinked when one of the stray cats mewed at her. "Just... Let your actions do the talking for you."

"Okay." Snow took a small bite of his lunch, still thinking over what Serah had told him. "So, alphas aren't really a thing?"

Serah suddenly smiled. "They are if you take stock in old stories and outdated research... Or bad 'werewolf' movies." She watched as one of the stray cats wandered off in search of fallen leaves to chase. "But no, actual wolf packs are much more like human families, and lycans aren't much different."

Snow nodded at her. "How so?"

"Well, the whole 'dominance' thing." Serah furrowed her brow at the thought of it. "There's a hierarchy in wolf packs, for sure, but parents of every species have to put rules and boundaries into place... That's all an 'alpha' really is, just a parent." She took another slow sip of her soup. "And in a large pack, the other members are mostly just several generations of children from the pair at the top, and the older ones become dispersal wolves later on in their lives, forming new packs with the grown children from other mated pairs."

Snow let his arms rest against the table, and there was only a brief moment of silence before he spoke again. "Are you sure you don't think teaching is practical? I think you'd be pretty great at it."

Serah felt a tiny flush of pride cross her face. "Oh, I just study this kind of thing for fun... Families are always interesting, no matter the species."

"Sociology, right?" Snow smiled widely, before he winked at her. "I bet you'd make an awesome teacher."

"Maybe." Serah's blush faded away, but she could still feel the warmth from his words. "It would mean a few more years of schooling than we bargained for... I think Lightning would be really grateful if I could start helping out with the bills."

"Maybe you could find work on the side?" Snow tossed off another bit of food for the stray cats. "I've seen job listings for part-time work around town, I was even thinking about applying for some."

"But you said you work at an auto shop..?" Serah dipped a bit of her bread into the soup. "That's got to be a lot to handle already."

"Yeah, it's technically an apprenticeship." Snow glanced off into the distance. "I've got the _real_ work down, the mechanics, the inner workings... It's mostly just the business side I have to learn."

"For your own shop?" Serah smiled at him. "A wolf on wheels."

Snow's eyes lit up at the sound of it. "That's not bad, Serah... But it might just blow my cover."

"Definitely." With a warm smile, Serah looked out over the campus grounds, at the tall birch trees that swayed within the wind, and she felt a certain feeling in her heart, that sense of yearning for the world beyond her current place. "I hope it all works out for you, Snow."

"Same for you." Snow looked back over the table at her, and he smiled again, though it was a bit more wistful than before. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you for talking to me again... For teaching me some of this stuff." He almost seemed to look a bit surprised at his own demeanor, perhaps more serious than he expected himself to sound, something brought on by that same sense of gentleness. "It's not always easy making friends with people who don't get it."

"With humans?" Serah brought her voice back down to a whisper. "My sister always says we're human, and I don't disagree with her... But there's more to it than that." She slowly dipped another bit of her bread into the soup. "I think she knows we're more like wolves than we let on."

"I think you'd have to be pretty deep in denial to think any differently." That playful smirk returned to Snow's face. "It's... There's just something that feels _right_ about letting loose, and running free, you know? Just for while."

"Yeah." Serah felt a laugh inside her voice, though it was barely even audible. "You just have to be careful about it."

Snow nodded. "No use getting caught like that... Not in a place like this."

* * *

A sharp scent filled the air, the aromas of gasoline and smoke, the industrial flavor of a concrete world, a place where pawprints disappeared into even less than nothing. There was no trail he could pick up, only the faint shadow of a dreamlike presence; Hope nearly scolded himself for trying to chase it, even if the elkskin blanket was still resting there with his clothes.

He walked on as a stray beast, just a dog in the road, shying away from any pedestrians who crossed his path, even if they looked at him with kindly gazes. They couldn't possibly know, for his eyes were pale and green, not the feral gold shade of a wolf, but he couldn't risk them getting close.

He soon watched the streets from deep within the shadows, gazing out at them, the populace that would sooner see him dead than be of any use to him, and he knew he was at a disadvantage. His teeth tightened upon each other at the sheer power of the memories, from the fleeting traces of his own human father, a man who always seemed much more interested in his own world than the varied life of a lycan. It once grew to be so much that Hope had asked his mother in rather blunt terms, he asked why she hadn't ever given his father the gift, why she hadn't made him like the two of them, but she merely said that it was his father's own choice not to live in the ways of a wolf.

Hope narrowed his eyes at the bustling crowds, at the people who were out for a midday stroll in the streets. The roads smelled of far more vehicles than he could count, and the human scents were numerous enough to feel dizzying.

What could those words have meant, he wondered, to go and find his _father?_ What could _he_ possibly do to help him? Hope trotted on through the alleyways, glancing around at the busier streets. He wasn't really human, not like his father, he knew that much, not even if he could look like one.

The sounds of the roads reached his ears in low rumbles and sharp sputters, of engines running endlessly throughout the streets. Hope slowly approached the edge of the alleyways, and he sniffed at the scents of the nearby humans, such a multitude of people. He suddenly yawned, stretching his hind legs to let his claws scratch the pavement, and he shook away the sleepy feeling right out from his short gray pelt. He had rested for most of the day, but with the afternoon approaching, he knew that he'd need to find more food before long, perhaps enough to bring back to his makeshift shelter.

And as he continued on, he could feel the chill of the concrete beneath his paws, and he lowered his ears at the feeling of the cold wind on his back. Hope slowly slunk out into the main streets of the nearby area, sniffing around for any hints of something good. Even a rat or a squirrel would be more than enough at that point, and without the aid of the wilderness to trap them, he had little choice but to hunt.

Hope watched the people who walked there through the streets, those who were all talking with each other or looking at the devices in their hands, busying themselves with their own lives, and he suddenly felt rather grateful that none of them paid much attention to what looked like just a stray dog. That was, until someone whistled softly at him, peering at him with a rather curious gaze.

He paused, standing stiffly, and the fur upon the scruff of his neck prickled up when he caught sight of those words on the nearby vehicle, where a uniformed human was kneeling with a small bit of food. And that was when Hope realized, without previously thinking of his actions, that he had wandered rather close to the place where he'd killed that raccoon those few weeks ago, likely enough to warrant an increased presence of animal control.

The human whistled again, gazing back at him with a look that was utterly gentle, yet Hope knew that no matter how convincing his own disguise was, he couldn't let himself play into the act any longer. And so he turned tail, trotting off again, before he broke into a much faster pace once the human was out of sight, just to put as much distance in between them as possible.

Hope bore his teeth at the path ahead, and from within, the first few rumbles of a snarl filled his throat. He was not a _dog_ , not a stray, merely a wild creature in search of asylum, if only for the fact that the forests were no longer quite so safe.

* * *

"Now, if the engine stalls-"

Serah glanced up when the sound of the midday bell echoed out over the outdoor area, before she looked back over at Snow. "Oh..."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Snow stood up from the bench, and he lifted up his cafeteria tray in both hands. "Might've been boring you, anyway."

Serah shook her head. "No, it wasn't boring." She stood up as well, though she paused at the sudden sight of a slightly agitated cat, one who was swatting at something near one of the furthest tables. "My mind's just in a different place, today... I have a project I need to finish along with my other assignments."

"Busy schedule?" Snow paused as well, and he narrowed his eyes at the hissing cat. "Wonder why's he flipping out."

Serah slowly approached the other side of the table. "Oh!"

Snow reacted almost immediately, shooing the larger cat away with a sharp hiss of his own, before he knelt right down against the ground, gazing at the tiny kitten who was hiding there beneath a discarded scrap of cardboard.

Serah knelt down too, and she slowly held out one of her hands. "Oh, he's way younger than the rest..."

"Yeah." Snow frowned at the tiny scratch on the kitten's nose. "Probably freezing out here."

Serah made a soft murmuring sound, and she let the little kitten sniff at her fingertips, before she moved her hand back to give it some space. "It's always a real gamble with animals; they either hate our scent or trust it like anything else." She frowned a little bit. "I love dogs... But they'll almost always bark at me, even worse than they would to a regular stranger."

"He doesn't seem too scared." Snow slowly held out his hand as well. "There's an animal shelter right down on Cobalt Avenue... He won't last long out here on his own."

"But are they a no-kill shelter?" Serah looked up when she heard yet another midday bell. "He's a bit scruffy..."

Snow smiled when the kitten nudged one of his fingertips. "Yeah, and he might have fleas." He slowly stroked the little cat behind the ears, petting against such soft tabby fur. "Hey, little guy."

The kitten mewed at Snow, still hiding halfway beneath his cardboard shelter.

"They used to have a cat in the shop, kept the place clear from mice." Snow gently petted the kitten's chin. "I could ask if the guys wouldn't mind if I looked after him... He's a cute little cat, at least."

Serah reached out to pet the kitten as well. "If our apartment allowed pets... Oh, but Lightning might not like it even if they did." She tried not to frown. "You don't think he has an owner somewhere, do you? A cat this young..."

"Probably from one of the strays." Snow gestured at where the other feline had since run off to, somewhere in the campus gardens. "They've been talking about rounding them all up and getting them into shelters... Just hasn't happened yet, I guess." He leaned back when the kitten wandered out to rest beside one of his knees. "Hey, buddy."

Serah took a closer look at the kitten. "A gray tabby, you think?"

"I don't know too much about cats." Snow kept petting the kitten, and he smiled when it began to quietly purr at him. "Other than how to feed them... Back when I was a kid, my foster mom had a few cats, not as friendly as this guy, but they liked being scratched behind the ears."

The little kitten slowly stretched out his legs, before he grabbed at Snow's scarf with his paws, batting at it without a care in the world.

Serah giggled at such a sight, at the way the kitten rolled around with the soft blue fabric. "...Why do you wear a scarf on your belt?"

Snow almost seemed to flush a bit, but he still kept grinning, before he picked up the little kitten from where it had wrapped itself all up in the scarf. "It's just a keepsake from before... Feels like a whole other life, now." He lifted the kitten in both hands, gazing at it with a rather distant sort of look in his eyes, before he tucked the end of the scarf down in his jacket pocket. "I was, uh... I didn't really know my parents, but I've always had it with me." Snow traced his fingertips over the frayed edge of the fabric. "I guess it's keeping another stray warm, now."

Serah smiled softly at the thought of that, and she reached out to pet the kitten again from where it was resting inside Snow's pocket. "You've made me late for class, little guy..."

"I'd say he's probably sorry, but-" Snow smirked again. "Cats are hardly ever sorry about anything."

Serah still smiled, gently stroking the kitten's ears. "I can always make it up later."

* * *

It was rather late in the afternoon by the time Lightning found herself back in the locker room, where she retrieved her phone from her purse, only to spot a single unread message from Serah: _I wish the apartment allowed pets. :(_

Lightning almost smiled at that, and she quickly texted back a reply. _The last tenant got kicked out for all of those cats._ _Would you want a goldfish as a Yuletide present? The rules say we can still have pets without allergens.  
_  
Lightning slipped her phone into her pocket, before she reached for her purse and a thicker pair of gloves, just enough to keep the early evening chills away.

Yet only a moment later, a reply buzzed to get her attention. _It's not like that. You remember that acquaintance of mine? We found this little stray kitten after lunch, today... He's going to have it checked for an identification chip at an animal shelter, and see if the place he works at wants to keep another cat._

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the screen. _Is this the one who was toking up?_

Serah texted back almost immediately. _Light! Come on, lots of people smoke recreationally... And he's a really nice guy._

Lightning sighed under her breath, before she replied once again. _Nothing illegal in the apartment, Serah. That's where I draw the line._ She quickly put her phone back in her pocket, even when it buzzed again, and she slung her purse over her shoulder, wandering out to receive her paycheck for the day.

"Hey, Light..." Fang was already waiting in the lobby with an envelope of her own. "Everything okay?"

Lightning nodded. "Serah just wants a kitten."

Fang whistled in amusement, and she leaned away from beside the lobby doors. "The landlord doesn't allow cats, right?"

Lightning nodded as she walked off towards the back offices. "No dogs, either."

Fang smirked to herself, before she turned to peer at the distant ocean sunset. "No dogs..." She gazed at the northwestern coast, all the way away from the borders of Gran Pulse, and she closed her eyes for just a moment. "No dogs." Fang listened to the muffled sounds of the wind to the distant ocean waves, and she leaned back a bit, wondering if such rules included wolves.

* * *

Teeth flashed in the evening light, and a set of paws struck silently against the cold, dark pavement, while a silver pelt blinked in and out of sight, racing around the shadowed alley streets.

Hope snarled, lashing back at the creature who'd stolen his salvaged food, at the mangy beast who growled and barked right back at him. It was clearly a domestic animal, yet there was no collar, no signs of care, only a matted hide and sharp yellow teeth, and eyes that burned with countless years of manipulated genetics, a beast bred to fear and hate his kind, to snarl and bite at any wolf that crossed its path.

Yet Hope stood in the form of a dog as well, at least as much as he could muster, though his teeth began to elongate against his own will, curling out in the signature signs of a lycan. The stray dog glared back at him, and it stood right above the scraps of food, thrashing its tail back and forth, trying to ward him off.

Hope's ears rose up to their full height, a warning signal, and he curled his lip even further, revealing those massive, deadly teeth. Though the dog stood fearlessly, it suddenly jumped when Hope roared at it, a sound that only the throat of a much more massive beast could manage, a deep, guttural sound, so very dark and savage. And then, it was a mere matter of blood, a single bite, just a scrap of lost fur, before the dog howled out in pain, writhing away from the grip of Hope's teeth to turn tail, racing off into the evening.

Even in the moments of stillness just beyond the scuffle, Hope didn't even react when human voices echoed out from the edge of his perception. He merely knelt down to gather up the scraps of food between his teeth, and he suddenly laughed, muffled and low, before he wandered off in search of somewhere to eat his winnings in peace.


	9. Chapter 9

A bit of soft music drifted in from beyond the hallway, likely from the television. Yet within her room, beneath the quiet atmosphere of the evening, Serah just kept staring at the screen of her phone, which soon buzzed with a new message. __We took care of the fleas on him, but no identification chip.__

Serah closed her eyes for a moment. She was resting flat on her bed, laying against the pillows and the sheets. She almost wished that she could help keep the poor little kitten warm with them, just something to help the cause.

Another message buzzed in. _The people at the shelter said that he's about five weeks old, pretty underweight and a little dehydrated. He probably wasn't getting much to eat out there... I'm buying some cat food for him. The vet there said that he's too old for just plain formula._

Serah opened her eyes to read the message, and she quickly wrote out her own reply. _You're really going to keep him, then?_

Snow's response came only a few moments later. _What else could I do? The vet said that the mother cat probably wasn't around anymore, not by how scruffy he looks. And the shelter..._ A moment passed by in silence. _It sounds like euthanasia's pretty standard around here if nobody adopts them in time. I just don't want to be the one who caused that for him, you know? They said he's young enough to fully socialize with people, and he already seems really friendly. He's a little tired out from the flea bath, though. ;)_

Serah held her breath for just a moment, before she tapped out another response, all while a tiny smile crept up over her face. _You're doing a good thing, Snow. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help._

Snow replied again after a moment or two. _You wanna name him?_

Serah's eyes almost widened at that. _Really? But you're the one taking care of him..._

An image arrived with the next message, a phone photograph of the kitten sniffing at a square metal can, all from where he was still tucked inside Snow's largest jacket pocket. _Yeah, but we found him together, and I've never named much of anything. You can pick a name if you want to._

Serah smiled at the way that the little kitten looked so curious, and at how he was all wrapped up in Snow's scarf again. _You don't think the fleas got in the fabric, do you? I hope you checked it out before you put him back in there..._

Another image buzzed in, one that showed Snow standing in the midst of a convenience store; he was smirking while he held up a few more cans of cat food, while the little kitten peeked out from his pocket again. _Yeah, the vet helped me get rid of them. I'm officially flea-free as well._

Serah smiled again. _Sounds like a very helpful vet..._

 _It looked like a slow day in there. He said the free clinic was run by donations, and with the fundraising drives going full force... You've seen the ads on TV, right? They're pretty good at getting people to chip in for the strays._ Another moment passed by before Snow replied again. _Gotta pay for these now. I'll text you later, once he's settling in._

 _Okay. Give him lots of hugs for me._ Serah almost waited for another reply, before she assured herself that it would likely be a while before another one arrived. She closed her eyes again, and she slowly placed her phone down against a small dip in the bed sheets. The soft little light played against the shadows of the room, before it quickly blinked away.

The sounds of the gentle breeze brushed against the windowpanes, and Serah turned to look at the sight of the sky, gazing out at the evening sunlight. It was nearly dark outside, yet the day was still somewhat early, barely beyond late afternoon. It would only get darker with the passing days, Serah thought, for she'd seen so many cold winters spent beneath an open sky, and she'd seen how the starlight glimmered upon the hardened frost, while a trail of pawprints crunched down against that coarse, frigid snowfall. The bitter days would come again, even colder than the fleeting chills of late autumn, but Serah knew that there would still be a few weeks of warm sunlight and vibrant leaves before the world itself would grow silent again, waiting to be covered in white.

Serah remembered those days, the plentiful hunting in the deep snow; while it might have seemed unintuitive for most animals to hunt their prey in such harsh conditions, both wolves and lycans _thrived_ within the winter climate. They could walk close to the surface of the snowfall with their specialized paws, while creatures such as elk, bison and deer, they would all break down through the snow with their narrow hooves and weighty bodies, especially when panicked, forced to slog along throughout the deep snowfall. A creature that had been bogged down into such a state, left to the mercy of a relentless, hungry lycan pack, while the rest of its own herd fled away to safety... Serah felt her teeth start to instinctively sharpen at the thought of it.

She still held a great deal of fondness for most animals, no matter how many of her own meals once consisted of rabbits or deer. The more primal part of her mind, it knew that herbivores were simply there to be hunted, and while it almost always abided to the more human part of her, the part that would grin like a fool at the sight of such cute little domesticated animals, even then, Serah knew deep down that absolutely nothing would stop her from procuring food if it was necessary. Yet the concept of a kitten, an animal meant for pure companionship, it made the human part of her mind feel just as fuzzy as her lycan pelt. It was only natural, after all, just a sense of empathy and compassion, a powerful part of her humanity itself. She remembered something from so very long ago, or at least it _felt_ like such a long time; she remembered it from when she was younger, in those first few years when she and Lightning had traveled along with Fang and Vanille.

Serah had been almost ten years old at the time, enough to understand that she couldn't keep many things while they traveled, even if Lightning was always willing to help carry along her belongings. She knew that lycans were so strong, and her big sister seemed almost as powerful as her mother had been, though such things were quite exaggerated through the eyes of a child. They'd lived for around two years on their own, just a pair of sisters in the wilderness, for without their mother to convince Lightning into staying in the group home, and the fact that a simple blood test could reveal the true nature of a deceased being, it was enough to drive them far, _far_ away from the place where she had passed on.

She remembered the slight feeling of surprise when Fang suddenly walked up to her one day, the day of Serah's tenth birthday, while Lightning silently slept there within the warm summer grasses, oblivious to the nearby conversation.

"Hey, kiddo." Fang had knelt down beside Serah, smiling softly. "Remember that critter we caught the other day?"

Serah did indeed remember the way she'd once thought of the wild marten, how she'd seen both Lightning and Fang chase the swift little thing around and around until they'd utterly tired it out, and how she'd watched Fang carry off the slain creature towards a nearby town, likely with the intent to sell such a quality pelt.

"Kiddo?" Fang slowly waved one of her hands back and forth. "Serah, you okay?"

"Uh." Serah remembered looking off to the side. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good." Fang waited then, almost as if she was unsure of what to say next; while she'd gotten along with Lightning almost immediately, Serah had always seemed a little more shy than her big sister, somewhat distant. "Well, I made us some money with it... And last night, Light told me about your birthday today." She waited for Serah to look at her again. "Vanille likes getting cake on her birthday... Would you like one?"

Serah remembered the tiny smile that crept over her face. "Really..?"

"Sure." With a warm grin, Fang stood up again, and she'd walked over to gently tap Lightning's shoulder, who was resting there in her full lycan form, a rather powerful sight to behold, if only she hadn't looked so drowsy. "Hey, Light?"

Lightning yawned from being woken up, and those massive, pointed teeth gleamed beneath the sunlight. "What?"

"Going out for a while." Fang pointed at Serah. "Taking kiddo with me... I've got enough money from that marten for a birthday cake."

Lightning's eyes had grown much softer, still that wild golden hue, but the warmth there, the affection in her gaze, it made them seem much less intimidating. Serah remembered the dark color of the eyelid skin that rested beside Lightning's facial fur, such a sharp contrast to that hue of white, rather like the same black tone of her nose. A lycan within its full form, taller and stronger than any human, a beast of lean muscle and thick fur, it was almost rather comical to watch her roll over in the grass, trying to find a more comfortable position.

"Just don't eat all of it while I'm asleep." Lightning's voice grew much quieter, and Serah remembered how her long white tail had gently whapped against Fang's human knee. "Bring back a slice, at least."

"We'll bring all of it back, Light; cakes are meant for sharing." Fang leaned over to poke Lightning's lycan nose, before she rose back up to her feet. "And would you let Vanille know where I am if she gets back here before us?"

Lightning nodded, before her ears drooped back against her head, signaling for a cease in conversation. There were always those little gestures, Serah remembered, a lycanthropic language. Many things were shared with their wolf cousins, a wagging tail, for example, that meant a happy or playful mood, while a thrashing tail was an utter warning, clearly indicative of conflict.

But while Serah followed after Fang, walking down from the tiny hills of their grassland refuge, she realized that Lightning's tail hardly ever thrashed at Fang... In fact, it wagged more often than not.

"The town here, it's actually pretty big." Fang stood tall above the grassland shrubs, for she had been somewhere around thirteen years old at the time. "It's cool... They even have an outdoor mall and everything."

Serah remembered the flicker of nervousness that crossed her mind; the people there, would they look at her strangely for not wearing shoes? She hadn't thought to put them on, for they'd all been traveling in their lycanthropic forms before resting there for a while, and Lightning even chose to remain like that.

Fang suddenly paused. "What's up?"

It took Serah a moment to realize that Fang had smelled her fear, just a subtle shift in bodily scents. She had never met another lycan with such a keen and perceptive nose, so very tuned in to even the faintest of pheromones.

"You're real quiet today, Serah." Fang knelt down again, just to stand more on Serah's level. "What's got you spooked?"

Serah shook her head back and forth. "It's just... My clothes aren't so neat right now." She tried to smooth out her shirt, and then the long skirt at her waist and knees, before she stepped forward again, moving to stand near the top of the grassy hill. "There's a lot of people in town, isn't there?"

"Yeah." Fang rose up to walk along the slope as well. "Lots of them... But it seemed pretty safe last time I went in." She soon pointed at the outskirts of the city, at the farmland and the suburbs, gazing down at the highway that led even further into the plains. "You can always tell when somewhere isn't safe, and this place seems fine."

"How?" Serah reached up to brush out her hair with her hands, threading the thin pink strands between each fingertip. "You knew those people were following us last week, didn't you?"

Fang smirked at the town beyond the grasslands. "You could call it a second sense... A gift."

Serah remembered the sheer confusion that crossed her mind, for she was old enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality, and she knew that Fang was rather fond of telling mythical tales. "Fang, don't joke around..."

"I'm serious." Fang started to walk down the hill, gesturing for Serah to follow. "I could just tell that something was off about it."

Serah sighed, but she followed on after Fang, moving towards the nearby town.

"It's like an instinct." Fang reached down into one of her traveling bags to retrieve a bit of something that she had bought in town, before she tossed a piece of it over towards Serah. "When I was little, my mom used to tell me stories about the spirits."

Serah caught the stick of gum with both hands, and she soon smiled at the flavor of it, sweet citrus and mild strawberry.

"She said lycans are all different on the inside, different gifts..." Fang started to chew her own piece of gum; it was a technique that they all often used to keep themselves calm; if a true meal wasn't available at such a time, the relaxation of a chewing reflex was still quite attainable with gum. "Listen, Serah... I wouldn't joke around about something like this."

Serah remembered the silence of walking down into the town, into the quiet streets that seemed so very bright and peaceful, and then the busier places, the streets that were filled with so many different people. It was almost enough to make her shiver, but when that first flicker of true fear crossed her mind again, Fang reached out to offer her a gentle hand.

"It's okay." Fang's voice grew even softer than it usually did, the same kind of tone she often spoke to Vanille with. "I saw a nice little bakery just over here."

Serah soon held Fang's hand rather tightly, but her grip grew looser and looser with each passing minute, with each time a potential threat turned out to just be another regular person. It had been rather often, she remembered, that they saw violence out in the wilds, or even in less amicable human settings. Serah herself knew the sharp sting of a gunshot, the cracking sound inside her ears when her own blood was loosed off into the air, strong enough to linger inside her mind for far longer than it took to heal off a wound.

"I'm here..." Fang murmured her words just under her breath. "We're okay."

Serah took a moment to find the right thing to say. "You're just like Lightning."

Fang paused at that, and her eyebrows quickly quirked at Serah's tone. "In what way?"

"You aren't afraid." Serah glanced around at the bustling streets; they were standing near a storefront, likely out of earshot from any listening citizens. "Lightning's only ever afraid when it gets really bad."

Fang slowly knelt down again, looking Serah right in the eye. "It's alright to be afraid."

"No." Serah shook her head. "Being afraid... It's _weak_."

Fang's grip on her hand tightened slightly, not enough to pinch, but it drew Serah's attention right back to those wild green eyes. "Serah." Fang's face was almost unreadable, yet there was such a mighty strength there, the same kind Lightning herself often took. "It's okay to be weak sometimes... We've all got our weaknesses."

Serah glanced away when Fang stood up again. "I don't believe you... You're never weak."

Fang rolled her eyes at tat, but she just kept leading Serah into the city. "I am when it comes to you and Vanille."

"What?" Serah tried to see Fang's eyes again, but she was already walking one pace ahead. "What do you mean?"

"I guess I've just got a soft spot for kids." Fang used her free hand to adjust the satchel strap on her shoulder. "You know, I almost had a little sibling, myself."

"Really?" Serah lowered her voice to a whisper. "You mean-"

"Mum never thought she'd even have a single kid." Fang kept leading the way down the streets. "I was... A surprise, they said; they'd never had any kids for years, and then my mom suddenly ended up with me." She looked over at the sight of a familiar shop, the little bakery where she'd smelled the scent of fresh bread on the previous day. "And then, once I was a little older, mom said that I'd be getting a little brother or sister before too long."

Serah remembered how she'd been barely old enough to truly understand Fang's tone of voice, nor the low, forlorn murmurs that came next, but some part of her fully understood how it made Fang feel.

"It... Didn't happen." Fang moved to stand near the storefront, gazing in at the fresh goods that stood out on display just beyond the windowpanes. "And I... I just sort of forgot about it for a while; mum and dad didn't talk much about it, either." She looked back over at Serah. "When I met Vanille, I wasn't sure at first if she really felt like a little sister, or if it was just friendship." Fang tried her best to smile, but Serah could see something lingering inside her eyes, something that almost looked like pain. "But I know, now... I wouldn't spoil her so much if we were just friends; it's a bond, Serah, just like family."

Serah kept very quiet, but she nodded at Fang. It took a moment or two to approach the front doors of the bakery, for there were many other people walking in and out of the big double doors, carrying pies or cakes, boxes of pastries or even massive loaves of bread. Nearly all of the confections had such sweet, lovely scents to them, enough to make Serah's nose twitch in excitement.

"Right, birthday cake." Fang made her way over towards the glass display cases, gazing down at the multitude of colorful sweets. "Places like this usually do free custom frosting, but..."

Serah knew the words that Fang hadn't dared to say aloud in such a place, that their names were far too important to reveal in such a casual way. Identities could be traced, they could be tracked down and hunted across the land. Even Lightning, Serah knew that her name had once been very different, and while 'Lightning' itself wasn't a fake name, the other word hadn't been uttered out loud in many years.

Fang spoke soft enough for only Serah to hear. "We'll just get one without a name."

"It doesn't make much difference." Serah kept holding Fang's hand rather tightly, for there were so many people around them. "It still tastes the same."

Fang smiled at Serah for that. "Well, it depends on the flavor." She pointed at the cakes in the glass display cases. "Which kind do you like best?"

Serah shrugged.

"Oh, come on... You've got to have a favorite." Fang spoke in that warm tone of voice again, slightly teasing, yet not in a cruel way; Fang was hardly ever cruel, Serah knew that for a fact, not even when they had to defend themselves or hunt for food. "How about chocolate?"

Serah shrugged again. "What kind do you like best?"

Fang took just a moment to think it over, before she pointed at one that had deep red frosting. "Marble, it's got the best parts of both chocolate and plain cake, all in one." She looked back over at Serah. "But this is _your_ birthday; you should pick out the flavor."

Serah glanced at all of the different cakes, and she soon gestured at one with bright yellow frosting, which was labeled as marble near the bottom of the tray.

Fang's eyes flickered with an emotion that Serah couldn't quite read. "You're not just picking it because I said I liked marble, right?"

Serah shook her head. "It sounds good."

"Alright." Fang moved to walk towards the ordering line, still holding Serah's hand. "You think Lightning likes marble cake?"

Serah remembered how her mind wandered off from that very moment in time, back to what she had been thinking about before they even entered the bakery. She knew that Lightning was very kind at heart, but it hardly ever shone through, mostly whenever Serah herself was the focus of her emotions, but over the months that the four of them had traveled together...

"Serah?" Fang gently squeezed Serah's hand. "You're even more quiet than usual today..."

Serah finally looked back up at Fang. "Lightning likes you."

And Fang's reaction, something that Serah would never forget, not in any number of years, was an image that she hadn't truly ever seen since. A light, yet visible blush just crept up over her face and neck, though it was slightly stifled by the darker tone of her skin. Yet Serah could still see it, and she knew that such things held more importance than she had ever previously thought.

"Uh... Well, yeah, I'd hope so." Fang tried to keep her voice down, and she looked back over at the queuing line beside the counter. "We're all traveling together, aren't we?"

Serah slowly shook her head. "She doesn't like anyone unless she really cares about them; if someone is just 'okay', she doesn't even bother."

Fang's face grew a bit red again. "Serah-"

"You're family too." Serah watched how Fang's eyes looked so bright, caught off guard for perhaps the very first time since they'd known each other. "I've never seen her make friends with anyone so fast."

Fang seemed at a loss for a brief while, before she looked back at where Serah was standing beside her. "You don't mind it, right? You know I'll look after the two of you, just like Vanille."

Serah nodded. "I know."

And they'd waited for the line to move, standing there in silence, but once they had approached the front counter of the bakery, where several local goods were out on display, Fang moved to examine the various treats and confections.

"Oh, look at this, kiddo." Fang reached over to lift up a small wooden box, one that held something with a rather sweet scent inside. "'Pure local honeycomb'... Wonder what sorts of flowers these bees get to work with."

Serah almost wrinkled her nose at the sight of the geometrical comb, which was resting right inside of the wooden box with a small plastic window at the front; she could see each of the honey-filled chambers, and she could almost imagine the numerous little buzzing bees that had once walked all around on top of it. "Honey _comb_? Not just plain honey?"

Fang nodded, and she turned the box over to see if it was truly unprocessed honey. "Yeah, how else would you eat it?"

Serah narrowed her eyes at the stack of honeycomb boxes. "From a jar... You can't really eat the comb, can you?"

Fang almost looked as if Serah was speaking gibberish. "What, you'd... _Not_ eat it?" She tried not to laugh out loud. "You'd leave the best part out?"

Serah shrugged. "I don't think you can eat the comb."

Fang almost sighed to herself, and she muttered something about ' _wimpy Cocoonic traditions_ ', before she promptly handed Serah the box. "You're getting an education in proper wilderness cuisine, missy... Honeycomb is a damn delicacy." She smirked at the look on Serah's face. "Consider it a birthday gift."

Serah peered down at the tiny wooden box. "It isn't too expensive?"

Fang lowered her voice to a whisper. "Martens are pretty rare around these parts... Made us a nice bit of money, kiddo, so don't you worry about it."

Serah kept quiet again, gazing down at the honeycomb. She barely even noticed when they'd reached the front of the ordering line, where Fang started to describe the cake that Serah had picked out. The cashier inevitably offered to place a custom name on it with icing, while Fang tried not to grit her teeth.

It was a necessity, Serah thought, yet she couldn't figure out why Fang suddenly had so many angry scents swirling all around her, something bitter and harsh, yet protective all the same. Serah would later realize that Fang wished they could participate in such a thing, just something to make it truly special, for a fake name just wouldn't be the same. Yet in the end, they ended up with a simple design, a bit of frosting in the emblem of the bakery itself. Fang paid for both the cake and the little honeycomb box, before she wandered back out into the outdoor mall with Serah at her side.

They still held hands, for Serah hadn't been quite old enough to feel embarrassed by it. She'd always held her own mother's hand whenever they walked in crowded places, just to have something to anchor herself, and she often did the same with Lightning. Fang always felt rather like Lightning did, a solid, comforting presence, enough to make nearly all of her worries slip away.

"It'd be nice to stick around in a place like this." Fang smiled when she felt the warm summer winds, those that gusted so gently over the crowds. "Light wants to try and find somewhere to settle down, you know."

Serah nodded. "I know."

"I told her it's safer to keep moving..." Fang walked on along the sidewalks, and she led Serah towards the more open pedestrian areas, a shopping center that had many different art displays and outdoor vendors, a place to buy goods of any kind. "My family always used to move around, but we did have a few homes we'd visit, little places out in the wilderness." She looked back at Serah again, trying to read whatever her expression could tell. "You and Light had a house, she said."

Serah's eyes began to squint in an effort to recall such a place, but she'd only been about three years old at the time. "I can't really remember much of it."

"Yeah." Fang gently squeezed Serah's hand. "Always tough to remember stuff like that."

And Serah had tried, she'd tried so many times, delving down into each and every memory she could possibly reach out and touch, but the only one that seemed even remotely clear was the image of a man sitting right there beside her mother. The four of them had been resting someplace very cozy, somewhere with soft, warm colors and so much bright sunlight. She remembered being lifted, the giggles that she'd made, while the man grinned up at her and held her so very high, almost as if she was flying, before she was lowered back down for a warm hug. Serah remembered how Lightning looked at that time, and she remembered that sour look on her sister's face whenever their mother would try to brush out her hair in a way that didn't have it falling down near her eyes, but the natural shape of it was always asymmetrical. Half of Lightning's hair curled down near her neck in a way that looked similar to her mother's, while the straighter, more spiky half, it looked rather akin to that of the strange man who Serah scarcely even remembered, a man with soft, fair hair, one who often hummed both herself and Lightning to sleep while they were resting in a place with so many blankets.

Serah realized that she truly remembered it; the realization was rather sudden, and it made her tighten her grip against Fang's hand. It wasn't a fantasy, just a mere mirage of a life that had never been, it was her own childhood, her own forgotten father, and she even remembered the time when the man had paused to explain to a rather confused Lightning why her fingernails had suddenly extended out into blunt claws. And Serah, even while being only three years of age, she didn't react with fear when her father gently picked her up one day, only he was in a form she didn't recognize. She _knew_ it was him, somehow, but she remembered babbling out her words and gesturing at his fuzzy, elongated face, before her mother approached to carry her instead.

 _Lycan_ , her mother had spoken it aloud, pointing at the man who no longer looked quite like a human. _Lycanthrope_ , she'd said again, and the two of them smiled at their little daughter, who hadn't yet shown a single sign of changing forms. But Lightning, already five years old, she was quickly starting to grasp the concept that she could become something else entirely, and that her parents had the same gift, the very same curse as her own. Serah would often see her sister racing all around the house with four swift paws instead of feet, for she was far faster as a lycan than a human child. Yet there was one day when their mother simply gathered up the squirming little lycan puppy into her arms, gently scolding her for running around in such a wild manner, before she sat down on an armchair to explain why Lightning shouldn't growl or bark at anything outside of their house.

Serah remembered it, thinking upon her past while Fang led them both around the sunny promenade. While the memories were still so very fuzzy and vague, she remembered that it was a little house that they'd lived in, a place that they were forced to flee when her father didn't return one day. She felt her lungs tighten with grief for a person she never truly knew, and she almost wanted to just run away at that very instant, to flee from all of the crowds milling so noisily around her, but Fang seemed to sense the immediate surge of unease.

"C'mere." Fang swiftly led her away towards a quieter place, a little side street with only a few other people mingling there. "It's alright."

Serah still remembered those first few bitter tears, how they trickled down so steadily against her face.

"I'm sorry." Fang sighed, and she sat down on a small wooden bench, one that stood beneath the shade of a tall oak tree. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

Serah sat down as well, still holding Fang's hand. "It's okay... I'm okay." She began to grit her teeth and smile, the same way that she had done when a bullet grazed her arm, or when she'd fallen down while running and sprained her ankle against a bit of stray rubble. "I'm... I'm kinda glad, it made me remember something." Serah watched how the sunlight played against the surface of those tall brick buildings, between the branches of the great green tree. "I remembered... Dad."

Fang kept silent for a long while, just sitting there, listening to the sounds of the city. Serah once thought that she seemed just as quiet as Lightning, but Fang always began to say something before long. Neither of them ever spoke in circles, though, and Serah found it to be rather refreshing, at least in comparison to most people that they encountered. Even Vanille, though she would speak much more frequently and excitedly, her words were hardly ever without worth or meaning.

So when Fang spoke again in a murmur, just loud enough to hear, Serah knew it was something that she shouldn't ignore. "It's not supposed to be easy, getting over stuff like that... People die, Serah." Fang tried to smile at Serah again. "You should've seen my mum, back when... Sheesh, you're gonna get me crying too."

Serah almost startled when Fang suddenly ruffled her hair, hiding away both of their grief, the almost mournful air between them. She was swiftly led right up to her feet again, back towards the city streets once more.

"No use dwelling on it." Fang carried the big paper bag with the cake in one hand, while she kept guiding Serah with the other. "Dead is dead, they can't even be sad about it themselves... So they wouldn't want us to be, either; they'd want us to grab life by the horns and make the damn _best_ out of it." She forced herself to smirk, despite that faint glimmer of pain in her eyes. " _Breathe_ , Serah... We've gotta live for them."

And Serah began to breathe more deeply again, just soft little breaths, all while walking on down those winding city streets. They began to approach a place that smelled faintly of sweet perfume and different goods, not to mention the scents of so many people. Serah inhaled, trying to do as Fang said, to live on despite the knowledge that she'd never truly see any of those hazy memories again.

"We could go back now." Fang faced the summer sunlight, leading the way through the streets. "Unless you'd like to take a look around?"

Serah felt something peculiar, then, perhaps a desire to prove that she could adapt just as well as Fang could, that she could handle any given situation the world threw at her, even when her heart still hurt with each thrumming beat. "Yeah... Let's look."

"That's the spirit." Fang's smile almost soothed away all of the aches. "You're Light's sister, no doubt about it."

Serah remembered the slight blush of pride on her face, for Lightning had often done the very same things in times of hardship; if any of them were injured or feeling down, she'd do her very best to keep herself proud and watchful, to act as if they still had the advantage. A sense of morale always flooded out from her like a rift in the air itself, from such sheer confidence and poise.

"Oh, look at that." Fang paused at the sight of a nearby sign, one which was taped down to a lamppost at the edge of the road. After peering at it for a moment, she turned to smirk at Serah. "Think they've got any wolfdogs?"

Serah almost scolded Fang for saying such a thing aloud, but she soon found herself whisked away to look at the nearby animal enclosure, the outdoor adoption drive for one of the local shelters. Serah knew that Fang had caught the look in her eyes, the way that the little creatures made even the slightest hint of glumness melt away, almost as if it had never existed in the first place. Serah soon found herself in the midst of something so utterly unique, the bond between humans and domesticated animals, even though she knew she couldn't possibly own one of her own.

"Here's a nice one..." Fang was petting one of the only dogs that hadn't yet barked or growled at her, for their keen noses could definitely pick up her unusual scent. "Wish we could bring one along with us."

Serah was kneeling down beside a small metal crate, gazing at the cat who rubbed itself up against the bars at her. She slowly lifted her hand to touch the metal barrier, and she almost giggled out loud when a rather rough tongue gently grazed her fingertips.

"Ah, he likes you." Fang walked over to kneel beside Serah. "Nice little kitty..." She lifted her hand as well, gently stroking behind the cat's ears, or at least as much as she could reach from beyond the bars. "You like cats, Serah?"

Serah slowly nodded. "There were a few kitties back at the place we lived in... The one with lots of people." She gazed into the soft gray eyes of the cat, wishing for all the world that she could just take it with her. "Someday, I'll adopt one."

Fang almost seemed reluctant to say anything contrary to the matter, and she waited for Serah to take her time with the animals, petting the friendly ones through the bars, wishing them good luck in their journeys. It was only when a few of the more uneasy dogs kept barking at them, snarling for long enough to draw attention, only then did Fang lead Serah far away from the little adoption drive, back into the bustling city streets. And when they finally reached the outskirts again, facing those wide green fields, only then did Fang lift up the bakery bag and smile.

"Happy birthday, kiddo." Fang gently ruffled Serah's hair again. "Let's get back and have some cake, yeah?"

Serah's memory began to blur with the passing hours, though she did remember the little yelp of joy when Vanille caught the scent of what they'd brought back, for she was also still in her lycan form; a pelt of dark orange fur awaited them, while a certain coat of white still slumbered in the summer grass, though Vanille's welcoming call woke up Lightning at once.

"Hey, you..." Fang tugged one of Vanille's ears and smiled, gently shoving her away from the paper bag. "Not yet, birthday girl gets the first piece."

Lightning moved forward as well, sitting there in her lycan form, a wolf in almost every way. Serah remembered the keen, knowing look in those big golden eyes, so much that she almost immediately moved to sit at Lightning's side.

"You alright?" Lightning spoke in just a whisper. "No trouble out there?"

Serah shook her head. "Yeah, I got to pet some kitties." She knew that Lightning could definitely smell the traces of them, as well as the invisible residue of her tears. "I, uh... We also talked about how it was when I was little."

Lightning hummed in thought, a low sort of rumble, though not quite discontented. Her voice was always a little different within her lycan form, rougher, lower, utterly lupine. "About mom?"

Serah shook her head again. "About dad." She looked up to see Fang and Vanille's approach, and she sat up straight with a smile of her own, gazing at the unveiled cake. "You're not going to make us eat our vegetables first, right?"

Fang smirked, for she was clearing off a bit of the ground with her feet, a patch without much grass. "What, you see any veggies around here?"

Vanille just kept hopping in place, and her tail wagged so swiftly back and forth, before she suddenly darted off into the tall grass to retrieve her belongings from wherever she'd stashed them, likely to change forms and get dressed again.

"Happy birthday, kiddo." Fang sat down on the dusty ground. "Ten years old."

And the memories swept up again in such speed, while Serah stared at the darkening sky beyond her windowsill. It had grown quite late during the time that she'd thought of such things, but there was one memory, one other thing that she needed to retrace.

It had happened only a single day beyond the one that she'd previously thought of, after they'd eaten their fill of cake, so much so that a mere rabbit or two was all that the four of them needed at both dinner and breakfast. Yet when the noontime rolled along, lazily approaching with such great clouds in the summer sky, Serah found herself testing out the little box of honeycomb while wondering if Fang had really been truthful that such a thing was edible. The writing on the back of the box was of little help, with no instructions or guidance, so Serah just drew in a very deep breath, before she tried her best to be brave again.

She opened up the box, and then she broke off a tiny bit from the side, watching the way that the honey slowly dripped down against the wooden surface, almost like liquid strands of sunlight. Serah closed her eyes for a long moment, before she took a small, tentative bite. And as she tasted it, the sheer sweetness of such a thing, so _wild_ , almost akin to feeling the natural patterns of animal flesh on her tongue, truly a meal for a wolf, so very pure and primal, it nearly overwhelmed her outer senses. The comb was so soft, and it lost its geometrical shape as she chewed it, but it soon became quite supple between her teeth; the wax held a similar consistency to chewing gum, and the pleasantness of such a thing made her savor that first bite for so much longer than she would have otherwise.

It was only when she heard soft footsteps approach from the slope beneath the hill, only when someone so familiar approached, only then did Serah look up to see Fang, who was carrying a glossy paper bag in one hand.

"Better late than never..." Fang smirked yet again, before she placed the bag down in the grass. "Light's not here, is she?"

"Wait, what's this?" Serah looked down at the fancy little bag. "Light went out to look for food with Vanille."

Fang knelt down for a moment, gazing at the vibrant honeycomb in the box. "Good, isn't it?" The same smirk kept tugging at her lips. "Better than that junk in a jar?"

Serah tried not to roll her eyes, but she slowly broke off a small piece to offer Fang. "...Way better."

Fang smiled as she accepted the chunk of comb. "I thought so. I'm gonna go find Light and Vanille." The golden honeycomb crunched in her mouth as she stood up again, swiftly flashing her teeth, canines that were far too sharp to belong to any human. "Happy birthday, Serah."

Serah scarcely even watched as Fang wandered off into the fields, for her attention was drawn right down towards the soft, colorful tissue paper, which she slowly tugged out from the bag. A birthday present, then? But what could be waiting there?

It was then that she felt something very soft beneath her fingertips, it was then that Serah gasped so quietly, before she tugged out the fuzzy plush of a cat from within the paper confines, and it was then that she slowly began to smile. Fang must have spent nearly all of her money on that and the cake, but Serah just hugged the chubby little plush against herself, holding it like she would hug a real animal, a source of solace and security. The fluffy fabric almost felt like velvet beneath her fingertips, and the longer bits of fake fur tickled Serah's chin, drawing an even warmer smile to her lips. She knew that Fang could see both sides of her, the wild, steadfast wolf and the child who sought out such human comforts, the girl who would cry at the thought of death, who wanted nothing more than to hug stray kittens and make them feel safe again.

And it was there, back in her own reality, the day when she was no longer so young or dependent, it was there that Serah slowly stood up from her bed, walking over to pick up a certain object from her various personal belongings.

The old, fuzzy plush sat so silently beside the little trinkets that she had collected over the years. She touched the soft fabric just to feel how worn it was, the result of more than a thousand tight hugs, but Serah knew that it could withstand at least one more from her. It still felt so soft, and the fabric smelled like all of the places they'd both been, from the grasslands to the forests, even the dusty places, the shelter within more populated areas. Serah held the old plush kitten with both hands, gazing down at where one of the plastic eyes had once fallen away, at least before Lightning stitched it back up with some makeshift thread.

"You've been through almost as much as I have, haven't you?" Serah smiled at the fluffy plush, before she slowly placed it back down beside her other keepsakes. "Honeycomb..." The fabric, though faded, was still just as golden as the plush's namesake.

The soft sound of familiar voices near the front hall drew Serah away from her thoughts, and she turned to listen for a moment, before she smiled in recognition. It was just a short walk from her room to the hallway, then the kitchen, where she moved in to give Lightning a tight hug.

"Hey, Serah." Lightning placed her purse down on the kitchen table, before she moved both of her arms to hug Serah back. "Everything okay?"

Serah nodded. "Yeah... And you? Was work okay?"

One of Lightning's eyebrows quirked at such a question. "Of course it was... When has it never not been okay?"

"Just checking in, Light." Serah stepped away to look at where Fang was standing. "Hey Fang... I was wondering if you'd help me look one of my projects over?"

Fang rolled her eyes at such a blatant cue for her not to notice the fact that Vanille was hiding in the front hallway with barely stifled giggles, and that Lightning still had her jacket on, ready to pick up her purse again.

"It'll be fun, I promise." Serah walked into the hall that led to the living room, waving for Fang to follow her. "I ordered your birthday cake on the way home today, you know."

Fang tried her best to look disgruntled at such a thing, but she merely followed after Serah into the living room, pretending to ignore the sounds of the front door as it was opened and closed again. "What flavor?"

"Marble." Serah sat down on one of the armchairs, and she watched as Fang moved to sprawl out on the couch. "It's still your favorite, right?"

Fang stretched out her arms and nodded. "Haven't had cake in years... Sounds good, though." After she kicked off her shoes, he leaned back to prop her feet up against the seat of the couch, resting her head on the opposite arm of the sofa. "So, I'm guessing this 'project' of yours isn't real?"

Serah smiled without saying a word.

"Silly Farrons." Fang closed her eyes, and she kept quiet for a while as well. There was something moving inside her mind, drawn on by the invisible smirk that had been lurking near the edge of Lightning's mouth. "Too clever for your own good, sometimes..."

Serah leaned back in her chair. "What do you mean?"

Fang slowly opened her eyes again. "Can I ask you for some advice, Serah? I might be a little out of the loop on Cocoonic culture, or customs, stuff like that."

Serah smiled again. "You've asked the right person... There's hardly anything else I've really been studying these days."

"Well, it's more of a general thing." Fang glanced at Serah from the corner of her eye, trying to tell if it was an appropriate time for such a topic, but it seemed just as good as any. "You know that, uh... Your sister and I, we-"

"Fang." Serah spoke in a gentle tone. "I know."

"Right, yeah..." Fang gave her a small, yet crooked grin. "Hard to keep any secrets around here, eh?"

Serah shrugged. "You're sleeping in the same room, Fang... A room with only one bed; there's no secret left in the first place."

"I just want to know if I'm taking a certain hint in the right way." Fang reached up to stroke her forehead, for she could already feel the faint beginnings of a headache looming there. "It's nothing inappropriate."

Serah nodded. "Go on, Fang."

"At lunch today, we were talking about the apartment, arranging the assets." Fang stared up at the ceiling, and she drew in a very deep breath. "She said... Maybe we should have joint ownership, and that it was a _suggestion_ , but I'm not sure if she was kidding or not."

Serah began to think that over for a moment. She knew that Lightning was hardly ever one to joke around, not unless the situation was something that she felt very comfortable with. She also knew that the two of them, Fang and Light, that they had grown rather close again over the past month or so, and that the initial distance between them had grown to be nearly nonexistent. Yet it still seemed rather fast, and Lightning wasn't one to rush into anything, not unless she was utterly sure of what she was doing.

"Maybe she's just thinking about tax benefits..." Fang smiled again, but her eyes seemed so very distant. "What do I do, Serah? You think it might've been a joke?"

"I think you should talk to her about it." Serah watched how the last few hints of sunlight lingered across the room, for the windows faced the west, towards the setting sun. "It could be really important, Fang, even if she was just kidding around about it... She could be using it to break the ice, you know?"

"Okay." Fang took another steadying breath. "I'll talk to her; can't say I haven't thought about it, either." She rolled over to rest on her left side, gazing out at the cozy little living room. "But it's weird, I'm usually the one giving out advice around here."

Serah smiled at that. "You know, I could actually use some..."

Fang looked back at Serah. "Sure, go ahead."

"Well-" Serah paused, and she gently chewed her bottom lip, hoping that Fang couldn't sense her apprehension. "I was talking with that acquaintance of mine, Snow."

"Snow." Fang sniffed silently at the air. "Smelled him on you again. No weed this time?"

Serah flushed a bit, and she tried to scowl at Fang. "That _nose_ of yours..." She crossed her arms, fighting back a tiny smirk. "Yeah, no weed; we found a stray kitten after lunch, and Snow took it to see a shelter vet."

Fang seemed to think over Serah's words for a moment. "Did he leave it at the shelter?"

Serah shook her head. "No, he even sent me pictures of them buying cat food together." She smiled again, for a rather warm feeling was creeping its way back inside her heart. "He said I could name it, but I wasn't sure... Fang, is it weird to like someone even when you haven't known them for very long?" Serah's smile flickered slightly, just a tiny falter. "We're not even really friends yet... At least, I don't think we are."

Fang tried not to narrow her eyes or to let her protective nature get the best of her; she knew it was more than natural for a young woman of Serah's age to be curious about such things, but there was a sense of sisterly guardianship that Fang always felt so strongly towards her. A fellow lycan could turn out to be many things, good or bad, perhaps even dangerous...

"He looks tough, but he's really gentle." Serah's smile widened again. "You should've seen him with the stray cats, Fang... He was so nice to them."

"Just keep your guard up, Serah." Fang moved to sit upright on the couch. "I told you about what happened before we got here."

Serah's eyes widened slightly. "You don't think-"

"I'm just saying that it's not safe to trust anyone we don't know." Fang tried to keep her voice gentle. "Not that you shouldn't try to make friends; you've always been a great judge of someone's character... Just remember those instincts of yours, okay?"

Serah slowly nodded, praying for all the world that she wouldn't truly need to.

* * *

Beneath the streetlights and the glimmering autumn air, already hinting at an early frost, Vanille watched the way that her breath almost seemed to look crystalline in the cold. She could tell that Lightning was trying not to smile, standing there upon the sidewalk in a thick coat and her long red scarf, but Vanille knew that she couldn't hide how truly happy she was.

"Come on, Vanille..." Lightning turned to gesture at the luminous storefronts, the downtown shops that stood so proudly along the fancy brick sidewalks. "I need to pick something up before they close for the night."

Vanille skipped on over to follow in Lightning's path, and she listened to the way that their shoes sounded against the hard bricks of the sidewalk. It was so easy to imagine the soft click of claws, the padded footfalls of lycan feet, but all she could hear was the soft thud of her own boots, not to mention the sounds of the people all around her. Those scents, she would never forget the scents; so many different aromas all blended together in a place like that, like an utter rainbow of smells. Vanille could feel it tingling inside her nose, and she almost quivered in anticipation, reveling from the sights and sounds, the wonderful din of such a place.

Lightning caught the scent of elation from Vanille, yet she didn't say a word about it. It was only natural, after all, for Vanille herself was known to be rather excitable, and the fact that she could easily jump from that state to a sense of high alert, it didn't cause Lightning any concern.

They walked on beneath the soft glow of the streetlamps, within the sounds of festive music and muffled advertisements, near glass windows that flashed with holograms or big banners of different wares, but Lightning only had eyes for a certain storefront.

"Ooh..." Vanille nodded in understanding when Lightning held the door open for her, ushering her inside and out of the cold. "Light, what kind is it?"

Lightning glanced around at all of the glass cases out on display, which held things from kitchen cutlery to combat knives, all manner of bladed tools. "Just like she used to have."

Vanille grinned, and she followed Lightning towards the ordering counter. It wasn't as if she was bothered by such a device, for Fang herself had taught her to use a knife as well, and the all-purpose knife that Fang now carried in lieu of the one that had broken... Vanille wrinkled her nose at the thought of it. It wasn't a _real_ wilderness tool, not like the one that Fang said her parents had once given her, a real hunting knife, capable of so much more than simply cleaning kills. It was a weapon, a true resource, just as sharp and keen as the long, curved teeth in her mouth.

Lightning spoke briefly with the clerk who stood behind the counter, and she was soon handed a small, rectangular box, already wrapped up in thin glossy paper and a dark red ribbon.

"Aw, I don't get to _see?_ " Vanille tried to fake a pout. "At least tell me what it looks like!"

Lightning fought back a smile. "You'll see it when Fang opens it." She quickly paid for the box, sliding a thin plastic card through the cashier's terminal. "I'm sure she'll let you use it sometime soon."

Vanille almost wanted to frown at that. "You know I don't like cutting stuff up..." While she appreciated the craftsmanship and the beauty of knives, the bloodier side of such things often made her stomach feel like it was tumbling through the air, a sour feeling that settled quite deep inside her body. "Unless it's something like woodcarving."

"You don't want to wear out a knife like this by carving wood." Lightning lifted the box to stow it away in her purse. "A woodcarving knife would work better, anyway."

Vanille almost wished that she could see through the wrapping paper and the box, but she resigned herself to the fact that she would see it in just a few days, when Fang opened all of her presents. And with that, she followed after Lightning again, off into the cold autumn streets in search of other gifts.

"What do you want to get her?" Lightning's breath almost looked like ice in the air, fleeting and wispy. "We can afford more than just a few things this year."

And Vanille smiled, before she pointed at a nearby storefront. "She was talking about her old scarf a few months ago..."

Lightning looked down at her own garment, the one that rested just above her coat, a silky red strip of fabric that Fang herself had once given her for Yuletide, a year so long ago.

"Remember when she lost it?" Vanille moved to cross the street, approaching a quaint little store on the other side of the road. "That was... Pretty scary."

Lightning remembered that day more clearly than most of their past travels; they'd been moving for miles along the southern coast of Cocoon, and a local group of lycan hunters quickly picked up their trail. She remembered that sudden scent of blood, the way the pain flared out into every inch of her body, before a whirling storm of teeth and claws roared right out to knock away her attacker, consequently shredding apart a past set of clothes, as well as a certain scarf, one that was soon abandoned against the ground in lieu of fleeing away.

"I remember it..." Lightning almost wanted to close her eyes as they entered the little boutique, and she moved to sit down on a bench while Vanille inspected the nearest display of autumn scarves. "But you were brave that day, Vanille."

Vanille paused to think back to the way she'd once clambered up to the treetops in her lycan form as a distraction, snarling and barking at those who'd tried to shoot her down, before Fang had moved in to ambush them from the side. A flanking attack caught them all off guard, and they'd fallen one by one, and even Vanille herself had managed to use her own velocity to crush and bite down on the throat of a woman with a shotgun, even if the feeling of that choked, muffled scream... She almost shivered at the memory of it.

"You want to grab dinner somewhere after this?" Lightning peered up at a display of various bracelets and trinkets, before she noticed something near the front window of the store. "I think Serah's already making something for the two of them at home, but we won't be back in time for it."

Vanille moved to trace her fingertips against a length of soft, fuzzy fabric, before she reached up to touch a silkier scarf. "Okay."

Lightning listened to the sound of wistfulness in Vanille's voice, something almost forlorn. "Hey, Vanille?"

Vanille turned to face Lightning again. "Yeah?"

"We're here." Lightning spoke very quietly. "We're alive, Vanille, that's all that matters."

Vanille tried to nod, she tried to do anything to acknowledge that she'd heard what Lightning had said, though she feared as if it looked like she hadn't heard her words at all.

"Just try to focus on the here and now." Lightning slowly stood up to approach the clothing display, standing right beside Vanille. "I know it's tough... But you've got us to back you up."

And Vanille slowly smiled, even when it felt like all of those memories were closing in on her, drowning her mind beneath the utter weight of such guilt, just as sharp as the claws of a beast, as cold and as hard as the touch of deadly steel against her throat.

"Which one do you think Fang would like?" Lightning knew that Vanille would realize her words were merely a distraction technique, but it was what they all needed in such times. "Her old one was blue, wasn't it?"

Vanille nodded, turning back to examine the colorful scarves. "Yeah... Deep, dark blue, just like the ocean." She slowly closed her eyes, and just tried her best to breathe.

* * *

Fang watched the way that light of the television flickered out against the walls, between the corners, illuminating the room in such soft colors. She knew it wouldn't be long before the front door creaked open again, but she merely closed her eyes for a while, dozing off against the sofa. It was rather difficult to do anything else after such a warm, home cooked dinner, which was enough to make her mind wander off to the concept of turkey, as well as the approaching holiday.

Wild turkeys weren't hard to track down in the forests and fields of Cocoon, and while they weren't quite as plump as their domesticated cousins, such birds were still a rather beneficial source of food. And unlike domesticated turkeys, they could run fast and sometimes fly rather swiftly, making it all the more of a challenge to catch them. She knew that Lightning would likely rather purchase a turkey from a grocery store, if only for the ease of preparing it, but Fang held a different approach to such things.

It was supposed to be a holiday to celebrate the end of the harvest season, Fang thought, to be thankful for the prosperous year behind it. She remembered hearing about how the past generations of Cocoonic people would hunt down their own wild turkeys for the festivities, not relying on some dumb poultry farm. That, in Fang's opinion, was much less admirable than tracking down one's own food for their family, providing for them with one's own strength and cunning. Yet her thoughts soon wandered away from such things, for there was still the matter of her own little 'holiday' to attend to before she could even start to attempt anything else.

There was one evening left, and then one day of acting grumpy again, before she could put the whole thing behind her for yet another year. If she was to be honest, she didn't mind the gifts, nor the affection behind the gesture, it was more the fact that it was so _planned_ , that was what made her mind swirl and churn with unease. She knew that none of them meant to inflict such a thing, and that the presents came out of the goodness of their hearts, yet it still made her feel like wandering away for a while, at least until the event itself had come and gone. But she would always stay, she told herself, she would stay at Lightning's side and figure out what they really meant to each other, to see if such a suggestion was merely more good-natured teasing.

Fang scarcely even realized that she'd drifted off into a light sleep, but when the door creaked open once more within the hallway, she woke with just a whisper of surprise. Was it Lightning, then? A quick breath of air brought so many scents into her sense of perception, some of which were rather foreign to the apartment, but Lightning's own signature was just as clear as crystal.

"Hello!" Vanille called out from the hall with a soft giggle in her voice. "Fang, Serah, you still up?"

"Over here..." Fang yawned, and she stretched out her arms. "I think Serah's working in her room."

Vanille soon bounded out into the living room, where she giggled again and knelt down beside the couch. "Were you sleeping? Lazy Fang..."

Fang nodded. "Just a nap."

"You should be _partying_ , birthday girl!" Vanille reached out to poke Fang's forehead. "Or are you tired from work?"

Fang nodded again, gently swatting Vanille's hand away. "It wears you out pretty quick." She looked up at the sound of Lightning's footsteps, where she appeared to be carrying a few shopping bags off into the back storage room, likely the presents they had just bought. "Hey, Light."

"Hey." Lightning's voice was slightly muffled from the other room. "Be there in a minute."

Fang nodded to herself, before she rolled over to rest on her side, gazing at the mirthful glimmer in Vanille's eyes. "What's gotten into you, missy?"

"You'll see!" Vanille beamed at Fang, hardly able to keep herself from fidgeting. "They have so many _things_ in the stores here, Fang... It's almost like being near Eden again."

Fang couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the thought of such a place, so... Structured, in a way that made every inch of her body feel on edge. There was nothing left to chance in a city like that, nothing that wasn't tailored to the exact specifications of whoever had designed such things. As beautiful as it was, with such tall, shimmering buildings, with public parks and wide promenades meant for pure ease and leisure alike, she could never quite shake the feeling that something about it was utterly unnatural.

Vanille poked at Fang's forehead again. "Don't give me that look, you'll like what I got you!"

And with that, Fang supposed that it was a far better alternative for Vanille to think that was the reason other than Fang's opinion on Cocoon's more opulent territory. It was so unlike the atmosphere of Gapra, even despite a surplus of technology around every corner; such a city lived in harmony with the wilderness, with winding streets between the tall birch trees, with buildings that matched the white and silver hues of such a place, a seaside city of both bustling commerce and spans of deep, natural silence.

"You know we only do it 'cause we love you, right?" Vanille gently tugged at one of Fang's ears. "Presents are meant to be happy, Fang..."

Fang managed a small, warm smile. "I know, kiddo; I'm just a little tired tonight."

"Then you should get some sleep, shouldn't you?" Vanille stood up again, moving away to sit upon one of the cozy little armchairs. "No use wearing yourself out like that, not with your birthday just around the corner."

* * *

The night soon grew to its very darkest, enough that Lightning had to let her eyes turn wild to see the room around her. Lycan eyes, just as keen as those of a wolf, she could see almost perfectly within the darkness, though she suffered from a slight loss in color perception.

And from the shadows, Fang's voice sounded just as soft as a whisper. "Going to sit over there all night, Light?"

Lightning slowly turned to face the center of the bed, gazing down at Fang.

"Did you have fun this evening?" Fang smiled, and her eyes gleamed with that same golden hue, lycanthropic, utterly wild, somewhat measuring. "It's been hard not to peek at whatever you've been working on, over there."

Lightning glanced over at the thin tarp on her desk, and she sniffed at the faint scent of leather softener. "You'll see it soon enough." Her eyes fluttered shut when she felt Fang's warm hands graze across her waist. "I've just been... Thinking a lot, tonight."

"Hmm." Fang gently led Lightning towards the sheets, helping her lay down there until they were resting on an even level. "Thinking about what?"

"All of us." Lightning let her eyes adjust back to their normal hue, much more sightless within the dark, but it was a measure of trust that brought her to do it. She could still see Fang's face, the soft angles and that thick, wild mane of hair, so long and silky beneath even the briefest touch of her fingertips. "About living here... I know it's not permanent, Fang."

Fang's eyes widened slightly, before she reached up to hold one of Lightning's shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"You think I want to live in a shoebox for the rest of my life?" A faint smile crossed Lightning's face. "Really... We'll save up our money, and once Serah starts working on whatever career she decides on, we'll be able to start looking for somewhere more..." She trailed off at the sudden look in Fang's eyes, a mix of warmth and something that almost seemed like disbelief. "Somewhere more like home."

"They'll find us there." Fang tried not to let her voice crack, despite the thin smile on her lips. "They always find us."

Lightning began to grit her teeth. "Then we'll fight them... I'm tired of running."

"We can't fight people like that, not for very long." Fang slowly shook her head against the pillows, and she felt the pressure from how Lightning's fingertips tightened in her unruly hair. "You want to keep fighting? To keep _killing_..? You want Vanille and Serah to have to-"

Lightning suddenly silenced Fang by pressing a fierce little nip into her bottom lip, just enough to pinch, and while it wasn't quite affectionate, the touch was just enough to make both of their eyes widen at the spontaneous nature of the gesture.

"Light..." Fang could feel each warm, ragged breath of air between them. "We're not really human, and you know it." She reached up to touch the elongated point of Lightning's nearest canine, even when she tried to squirm away. "Look at yourself, Light... And look at me."

Lightning could still see those golden eyes, and she shivered beneath Fang's touch, that gentle caress of fingertips, not claws, but she could see those sharp teeth, the first few hints of the beast.

" _Lycans_ , Light." Fang's voice held the very darkness of the wild, the whisper of forest leaves, the slightest rumble of a wolf. "Humans, but not really."

Lightning slowly squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look into those golden hues for any longer.

"Please, Light." Fang caressed over her shoulders, across her spine, just a ghost of her own real power, a touch between those of the very same likeness. "You know how much it kills me to see you hate yourself..?"

Lightning's eyes nearly flew open at such a statement. "I don't-"

"You hate the wolf." Fang slowly moved to trace over that sharp point again, feeling the warm moisture of Lightning's breath. "Maybe hate is the wrong word... You wish it wasn't bound so tightly to the human side." She watched that fragile swirl of realization and regret in Lightning's eyes, a golden shade that tried to overtake the blue. "You wish you could turn it on and off like a switch... Click, human... Click, _wolf_." Fang waited for that gaze to grow calm again, for those shaky little breaths to even themselves out. "But that's the problem, the lycan won't choose either side, and it never will."

Lightning didn't make a sound for a very long while, and she only spoke when Fang gently stroked her chin. "I still don't see why we can't try for a better place, a better life for all of us... So what if they find us? You and I, we're stronger now."

"Anywhere we go, they'd all turn against us... And we'd have to kill again." Fang murmured her words into the darkness, caressing the soft curves of Lightning's cheekbones. "You think a lycan can just fight someone off in a place like this? Even if we did, someone would hear it, and they'd all find our trail eventually; more would always come."

Lightning's breath quickened within her throat. "My parents managed it." She almost snarled at the sudden swell of sympathy in Fang's eyes. "I know, Fang! ...I _know_."

Fang kept silent for many long moments. "They'd be proud of you."

"Why?" Lightning felt that same bitterness welling up in her voice, and the fact that Fang's touch still brought so much comfort, it almost made her want to lash out again. "Because I was barely scraping by? Hardly providing for Serah before you came along? I'm not... I wasn't _enough_."

"They'd be proud of your spirit." Fang tried to soothe away the rough snarls from Lightning's throat, gently caressing the back of her neck. "They'd be proud that you still want to do better for us... But Light, the world just isn't right for what we are." She smiled when Lightning slowly moved to press their foreheads together, seeking even more of her warmth. "We need to be light on our feet, just like we used to be, able to get the hell out of somewhere on just a moment's notice."

"I know." Lightning moved her fingertips through Fang's mane of hair again, for she knew the feeling would calm both of them down. "It's a gamble... But we've been safe here so far."

"And I truly hope it stays that way, you know I do." Fang hummed very quietly, before she let her hands settle back against each side of Lightning's waist, one of which was pressed against the blankets. "You know I've always got your back, Light... I've been building something out in the woods, you know."

Lightning looked right back into Fang's eyes, into that softer, greener shade, no longer gold. "What is it?"

"A tunnel in the ground." Fang moved to whisper her words against Lightning's ear. "Somewhere to hide out if something goes wrong... It's not too far, just out in the woods, and we can use the river to hide our scent."

Lightning moved her hands away from that long, silky hair, wrapping her arms around Fang's waist instead. "Smart call... But I already have an escape plan, you know." She tucked her chin down against Fang's shoulder. "Serah and I still keep our ready bags."

Fang smiled at that. A ready bag, exactly as it was called, was a bag prepared with supplies, tools, spare clothes, even canned food that likely wouldn't spoil for decades. Such a thing was once a staple resource when they were younger, a boon in times when they'd all have to flee the area immediately.

"Will you show me this tunnel?" Lightning hugged her arms a bit tighter around Fang's lower back. "We could store things underground, just in case the worst happens."

"Of course." Fang hugged Lightning as well, nuzzling against her neck. "But you know, you really dodged my question back there."

Lightning almost growled at her, but that deep, steady heartbeat beside her own was enough to soothe away the frustration.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of." Fang traced swirling patterns against the fabric of Lightning's nightshirt. "I... You know I love you, and that means _all_ of you." She slowly leaned back to look right into Lightning's eyes, no matter how elusive they tried to be. "We're more than human... And I wish you loved that part of yourself."

Lightning tried to glance away, to wait and see if Fang would drop the subject, but those watchful eyes just kept staring at her. "...I love you too."

Fang's chest rumbled with deep mirth. "I appreciate that, but it's not the answer I'm looking for."

Lightning tried not to blush when a small, delicate kiss was pressed against her cheek. "What do you want from me..? To say I like living every day with something like this?" She almost shivered at yet another warm kiss, gently coaxing more words and more from her lips. "You want me to love being a _monster_ to them? An 'afflicted', hunted down and-" Lightning finally did shiver at the touch on her hips, a single thumb hooked beneath the waistband of her flannel pants. "Fang..."

"I want you to love all of you." Each of Fang's words brushed so softly against Lightning's mouth. "Do you hate me for being a lycan?"

Lightning's eyes suddenly widened. " _No_ -"

"Then why do you hate that part of you?" Fang almost seemed to pause, to savor those first few hints of understanding in Lightning's expression, perhaps even a step towards self-acceptance. "Lightning... I do want to be yours, but it just hurts too much to see that you don't love yourself." She reached up to stroke her other thumb across the curve of Lightning's chin. "Will you try..? Try for us?"

Lightning almost wanted to look away again, to slip away from beneath the hold of such a question, but her own desire to take that next step, it slowly overpowered her more elusive instincts. "I'll try."

"Good." Fang hummed, and she pressed her lips to Lightning's forehead, just a tender little kiss. "I know we've never made it official before... We've never really talked about it." She leaned back to nuzzle their noses together. "But _now_ , now that it's happening, that we're together again... Would you be my girlfriend, Light?"

Lightning bit back a rather wry smile. "Do you really need to ask?"

"What, because we've already made love?" Fang smirked against the sharp draw of Lightning's next breath, for she'd hooked her thumb even further against a certain waistband. "Last time I checked, sex doesn't mean commitment."

"Fang-" Lightning felt her eyes flutter shut, and she squirmed a bit closer at the feeling of Fang's warm hands. "We're... There's nobody else like you, and there never has been."

"I know." Fang made her way slowly, feeling her, savoring the muscles that stood like steel, the strong upper tendons of Lightning's thighs; it sent a thrill right up Fang's spine, straight into her heart, all from the primal knowledge that her partner was so _strong_ , more than well-equipped to fend off any possible dangers. "But it doesn't mean that I don't have to ask... What, do people from Cocoon just take their lovers as a given? No questions asked?"

Lightning bit her bottom lip when Fang's roaming touch brushed even closer towards her stomach. "Consensual intimacy... Implies something." She moved to twist her own fingertips into Fang's mane of hair again, gently scraping against her scalp. "People don't just have something like that, and not-" Lightning couldn't help the rather sharp whimper that seized her throat, feeling that first firm, yet gentle squeeze upon her lower waist, all from the hold Fang had on her hipbones. "Hmm..."

"Light." Fang tried to catch that foggy gaze, already so tinged with need. "Show me."

Lightning needed a moment to pry herself back through the sudden haze of lust. "What?"

" _Show_ me." Fang's voice grew warmer, darker, a low snarl born of everything else but anger. "The Lightning I know... She's fierce, she's sharp, and she's damn proud of herself, and I _love_ her for it."

Lightning felt that same familiar edge start to build up inside herself, fueled on by the heat of Fang's words.

"The Lightning I knew... She didn't shy away from herself." Fang leaned up to gently nibble at Lightning's lower lip, grazing it with those sharpened canine teeth. "She was never afraid of it... Never tried to stifle her own nature."

A mere moment lingered between them, just a sliver of time; eyes locked, muscles tensed, before Lightning's lungs heaved with her next motion.

They clashed, tongue and teeth, steel upon steel, muscle and limbs, arms twisting and grabbing for purchase, a mere murmur of sound in the darkness, sharp panting, the rough little whisper of clothing and bare skin, before Fang settled her teeth against the thrum of Lightning's pulse. And she squirmed, moving to grab Fang as well, finding a hold upon her tensing, muscular shoulders.

" _Lightning_..." Fang nipped the curve of her pale throat again, claiming it, before she moved to sink her tongue back down against that warmth, into the tender heat of Lightning's mouth, where her words nearly slurred as soft murmur. "Show me."

She found herself gazing out with sharp golden eyes, swiftly pinning Fang's body down. She could feel the slick sweat on her skin, the heat between them, and Lightning shivered beneath the chill of the night, poised with no pelt no warm her. No matter how many stories she'd heard of the more animalistic side of such things, they never held much substance in the face of pure human lust. Wolves did not mate for any reason beyond instinctual procreation, as there simply wasn't much pleasure there to be found. Only a lycan could know of such things, all within a highly specialized, utterly human form.

Fang felt a shiver roaring through her lungs in the face of that strength, within the supernatural power of Lightning's limbs, still so familiar, yet far beyond what any mere woman was capable of. She was solidly trapped, pressed against the softness of the sheets as Lightning took hold of them both, kissing the breath from her lungs, stealing it all away, claiming her right back, yet there wasn't even a hint of resistance in Fang's posture, only strength. She had asked for it, after all, coaxed it out, called for the lycan to wake again, and Lightning could only oblige.

Fang shook at that first feathery caress, the grazing touch between her thighs, just above where she truly needed it. She began to tense at the hold on her wrists, where one of Lightning's hands still pinned her down to the sheets. "Caught me, didn't you?" She smiled up into those gleaming eyes, and Fang slowly licked away the moisture from her lips. "Love me, Light..."

Lightning's hips soon shifted to let her knees rest against either side of Fang's thighs, strengthened by the beast within her blood, the sensation that lurked behind human skin, the glimmer in her eyes that spoke of something far more wild than before.

"You know I love you." Fang tried not to let her breath hitch when Lightning's fingertips grazed just beneath her curls. "I love _you_ , all of it..." She let her hands relax against the pillow, though they still still trembled when Lightning moved to hold one of her shoulders. "Everything, Light." Fang reached up to grip those sweat-slickened limbs, the muscles that seethed with such gentle warmth, with her inner steel, sheer lycanthropic power rushing on within the curse itself, the blessing of her blood. "You, every bit of you..."

Lightning almost felt as if she was far beyond speech, yet she still leaned in to murmur when Fang shivered yet again, whispering low sounds that didn't quite form words, meaningless assurances, all spoken in deep, rumbling tones. Fang almost wanted to cry out at the way Lightning slowly pinched her clit, keeping the pleasure up to a boiling roar, yet she simply panted and twined her hands down into Lightning's hair, moving up to steal another kiss.

It was an instinct that Lightning followed on with, the need to hear more of those tiny whimpers that shook Fang's throat, the will to please her chosen lover, to make her tremble and shake. And Fang gripped her, trying not to tug too tightly at Lightning's hair, even when the sweltering warmth inside her abdomen throbbed even further, when it felt like she might fall right over the edge into oblivion. She could feel each stroke, each time Lightning slipped further down to take her from inside, so swift and gentle all at once.

Fang felt her toes curl so much that they began to sting, yet she just kept whispering against Lightning's skin, such wordless encouragement, tiny hitches of her own heated breath, whimpers and long, deep whines, before she felt her hips jerk against Lightning's hand of their own volition.

And Lightning gasped almost silently, before she moved to brace her free arm against the bed sheets. "Fang..." Beneath the sudden, sharp gesture, she could feel the same warmth inside herself, the same need for release, and with the way one of Fang's legs was curling itself around one of her own, it nearly broke her concentration. "Fang, don't you want... More of this?"

Fang nodded without words, and she moved to cup each side of Lightning's face in her hands, swiftly drawing her down again, claiming the very words from her lips. The slickness of it, the touches were mirrored in the way that Fang took control of the kiss, breathing raggedly against Lightning's eager tongue, before a sudden, shared shudder caught them both. Lightning almost felt a cry fill her throat when Fang stroked her from beneath, perhaps in an attempt to distract her, just to prolong the feeling between them.

"Shh..." Fang kissed away the soft whimpers from Lightning's lips. "Lemme try something."

"But I haven't-" Both of Lightning's arms tensed at the familiar strength, at the power of Fang's own inner nature. "Fang, you haven't..."

"We'll go together." Fang rose up to hook one of her legs against Lightning's waist, coaxing her to move back down towards the bed sheets, to be gently straddled from above. "Please... Let me try?"

Lightning shivered when Fang's hands brushed all across her soft stomach, feeling the steely muscles hidden there. "Try... What?"

"Feels more sensitive..." Fang's voice rumbled as she leaned in to kiss her soundly, and each ragged breath echoed out into the darkness. "Gods, Light, it's like everything's on _fire_." She gently moved one of her knees to coax Lightning's legs apart, feeling the heated slickness of it, letting it touch against her own skin. "Is this okay?"

Lightning slowly nodded, before she fully shivered at the pleasure within her chest, feeling the way that Fang stroked deep against her skin, moving to gently squeeze one of her breasts. "Oh-" She shivered again, and she couldn't help the brief little whimper that shook her throat, trembling from the way Fang leaned in to lick and kiss the rosy peak of her nearest nipple. "Fang-"

Fang merely drew her mouth down against such soft, dusky skin, and she let a low hum rumble through her throat. They were nearly brushing against each other below, and Lightning tried not to writhe from it, though she couldn't help but struggle to draw breath from the way Fang focused upon the tip of her breast, tenderly taking it into her mouth.

Lightning felt a heightened sound claim her voice, something between a moan and a whine. It was enough to make her hips jut up without warning, finding a certain place against Fang's own heated center, and such a sudden, grazing touch made them both stop to shiver at the feeling.

Fang slowly leaned back, and she drew in a deep, shaky gasp, before she trembled yet again. "Ready..?"

Lightning didn't speak for a brief moment, simply trying to catch her breath, but she soon leaned forward again, coaxing Fang to sit back on the sheets. "Not unless I'm up here."

"Ooh, feisty..." Fang's breath was heavy with mirth. "Think you can handle it, love?"

Lightning only offered her a soft snarl, and then a gentle nip on her mouth, already reddened from so many repeated touches. "You don't get to make me feel... Like this, and suggest that I can't handle you." She caught Fang's left wrist, holding it, a sudden war of unseen strength; it was a game between them, a test to see who could win without revealing any outward effort, a game that Fang soon found she'd far rather lose than win.

So with a gentle sigh, relenting, Fang found herself getting pressed back down against the sheets, while her dark hair slowly fanned out against the pillows. Lightning leaned back in to claim another deep, whispered kiss, before she adjusted herself, her knees, her thighs, seeking that same jolt of pleasure from before. And Fang felt it, just as sudden as Lightning's own namesake, the brush of pale pink curls against her own intimate folds, heightening the sensation with each movement, each varied test of pressure.

They would both deny the nature of their sounds, of course, muffled by the slick pressure of tongue and teeth, even when Fang's knees suddenly buckled and fell to either side against the bed, and even when Lightning herself whimpered with a soft, keening cry.

"Shh..." Fang kissed the shivers away, even though she knew the sounds that mirrored agony held nothing of the sort; they were both more in tune with the wild blood in their veins, more sensitive towards the touch of such an intimate place. "I've got you."

Both of Lightning's arms nearly gave way from where she'd propped her elbows against the sheets, but she kept herself strong, angling her hips to brush Fang's core with her own, listening to the soft gasps that hissed out between both of their teeth, a warm breath against her mouth. Lightning closed her eyes just to concentrate, to angle her hips and repeat the same primal motion, even when Fang's grip wrapped down so tightly against her back, scratching soft, reddened marks into her skin. She could feel it building deep within herself, the steady boil inside her lower abdomen, fueled by the heavy little hitches in Fang's voice, by the warm, wet feeling between them, rising higher and higher, enough that Lightning wanted to cry out again, if only her own modesty didn't keep it down to a shuddering gasp. It grew within the darkness, with each motion she made, within the shivers that rattled out through her limbs, and Lightning felt herself tighten, repeatedly pressing herself there; she felt Fang spasm as well, felt those fingertips grip into her hair again, before it finally became too much.

Lightning's vision went so bright, and she leaned in to muffle her sharp cries against one of the pillows; she felt as if she was being burned away by an inner fever, a fire, falling faster than she ever had fallen before, as if the heat inside her had risen up to grasp at every cell in her body, as if she was nothing, nothing, _nothing_ , yet everything all at once. Her knees buckled down beneath her, and she felt a warm, moist feeling increase beneath her own excess fluids, before she slowly whined, trembling and jutting her hips down against the high of such sensations.

" _Light_ -" Fang shivered as well, shaking from her own intensified state, far beneath the waves that still rattled her so swiftly. "Lightning, you've... Mhmm." She kept tensing, sighing, and then she trembled again with a long, gentle buck to her hips, riding out the sensation of those deep, pleasurable heights, while her voice was just as heightened. "You sure you've never been with anyone like this?"

Lightning would have growled at Fang, if only her breath wasn't so high as well; she feared her voice would sound more akin to a squeak than any true reprimand. With shaking limbs, even with the feeling of her core still pressed against Fang's folds, Lightning reached out within the darkness to swat in the vague direction of Fang's face.

Yet Fang merely rested there, savoring the lingering presence of her own high, even with Lightning's hand clamped halfway atop her mouth. When she finally did speak, her voice was rather muffled by that very same appendage. "I wouldn't mind if you did... If you didn't know that I was ever gonna find you again, I wouldn't blame you for hooking up."

To her own inner dismay, Lightning's words were still rather high-pitched, perhaps from the wake of crying out against her pillows. "I've never been with anyone else." She took a moment just to breathe, to try and calm her own heaving lungs. "Not unless you'd count... Watching videos behind a proxy server." She silently cursed the way that her voice cracked, and she drew in a very deep breath, before she moved to lay back down against the bed sheets, away from atop Fang's hips. "But what would you call _that?_ I've... Heard a few different names for it."

Fang's voice sounded just as hoarse. "Tribbing."

Lightning felt a flush grace her cheeks, and she moved to hide it against one of the colder pillows. "Certainly takes more... Effort."

Fang slowly rolled over to rest on her side, gazing back at Lightning again. "Not bad for a Friday night, eh?"

Lightning's blush deepened slightly, but she did feel a bit of pride from the sense of awe in Fang's eyes, still a bit glazed over from such a state. They were both fading back again, for the lycan blood was receding, no longer summoned from the wild tempo of their hearts, from the very call that Fang had whispered right into Lightning's ears, coaxing her into such strength.

"Now... You wanna tell me what you've seen behind this 'proxy server'?" Fang hummed when Lightning tried to squirm away, but a gentle caress, the soothing touch on both of her arms, it kept her very close. "You could always share with me, you know."

"It's only the basics." Lightning tried to keep her voice down to an even tone, though she almost blushed again when Fang leaned in to kiss and nibble at her cheek. "Just... It's a whole lot different when they're both women." She almost felt herself tremble at Fang's repeated touch, only it was lower then before, beside her chin and jaw. "A whole lot better than anything else."

"Hmm." Fang reached up to gently stroke Lightning's hair. "And what do these women do with each other?"

Lightning almost wanted to scoff at such a question, but the feeling of those soft, tender touches kept her from doing so. "...They have sex, Fang."

Fang smiled warmly. "Just sex?"

"It's not-" Lightning tried to glance away, but her gaze kept turning back towards Fang's deep green eyes, drawn there by some force that she couldn't quite name. "It doesn't make me feel anything if they don't have chemistry."

"That's important." Fang moved to caress Lightning's cheek with her thumb. "Maybe we can... Watch some chemistry together, sometime."

Lightning felt a slight thrill run right through herself, perhaps from the acceptance, or even the encouragement of such a thing. "...Maybe." She slowly leaned in to press her own soft kisses against Fang's forehead, where she could taste the faint droplets of sweat that lingered on her skin. "Happy birthday, Fang."

"Hmm." Fang smiled, and she leaned in to wrap her arms around Lightning's back, holding her very close. "Not just yet, you know."

* * *

As time carried on, the soft morning lights passed by in a blur, with a slow, lazy breakfast and an even lazier nap shared upon the couch, before Fang watched as Lightning left to help Vanille with assembling some new furniture, a cabinet for her room.

It was raining gently by the time noon approached, and Fang left the comfort of the sofa to aid with preparing lunch, all while Serah kept chattering on about the little kitten that she'd spoken of before. Fang didn't quite mind looking at the pictures, at the images of the little cat eating his first meal at a new home, and then one of what looked like an industrial automobile garage, with the kitten sitting atop the seat of a rather impressive motorcycle, yet even then, Fang couldn't help but wonder just how much of Serah's excitement was for the kitten, or for whoever was taking the photographs.

"So, this guy." Fang stirred at a pot of marinara sauce. "You said you're just acquaintances?"

"Well... I'd like to get to know him a little better." Serah, clever as she was, she knew that honesty was always the best policy when it came to both Fang and Lightning. "He's always so polite when we talk... But you can tell he's usually a little more rowdy by the way he stops himself before talking." She kept chopping up a bit of garlic upon a cutting board. "It's just so good to know another lycan, you know? I really hope we can be friends."

Fang tried not to let her own concerns get the best of her. She knew it was important to make such connections, that new friends were very healthy for a young woman, so after a moment or two, she began to speak in a firm, yet gentle tone. "You're old enough to make your own decisions, Serah... And to take your own risks, but I just want you to know that we'll be right here to help you if anything goes wrong." She picked up a small spoon to taste the marinara sauce, before she tossed a small pinch of salt into the burbling mixture. "Family always looks out for family... You just have to be careful about the friends you make."

"I will, Fang." Serah placed the garlic into a glass bowl, before she moved to start chopping a small bundle of fresh herbs. "Want to see if the pasta's cooked?"

Fang stepped towards the other side of the stove, where she dipped down a long, hooked utensil to grab up a bit of the spaghetti, lifting it right above the pot. "Needs a bit longer." After she placed it back down, she leaned away for a moment, gazing out at the cold autumn weather, at the raindrops that were trickling across the windowpanes. "We're lucky it hasn't frozen up out there... Not even Thanksgiving yet."

"Oh, Thanksgiving!" Serah smiled at the thought of it. "Are you gonna catch us a turkey again?"

Fang grinned as well, just a sly little smirk. "Might need more than just one with an appetite like ours..." In the past, she'd always brought back a few other things along with the turkey, as each of their dual natures necessitated extra nutrition. No matter how much they ate within their human forms, a portion of the energy they gained from eating always seemed to funnel right into their alternate natures, keeping them sated and strong.

"Well, I'll start figuring out what else we need to make for it." Serah moved to sprinkle a bit of garlic into the bright red sauce. "Mashed potatoes, stuffing... And I'll ask Lightning if she wants to bake pies this week."

Fang felt a smile cross her lips at the thought of freshly baked pie. "Did you bake any last year?"

Serah shook her head. "We didn't have the apartment yet, Fang..."

Fang suddenly realized her error, and she leaned over to pat Serah's shoulder in reassurance. "Didn't remember... It sort of feels like you've been living here ever since we had to split up."

Serah slowly smiled. "Yeah, it already feels like home." She moved to stir at the marinara sauce. "Hey, could you maybe check if Lightning's okay? If she's still trying to get those cabinets together..."

Fang glanced over at the small archway that led towards the hall. "She's pretty handy with that kind of thing."

"They still might need a little help." Serah reached over to stir the pasta as well. "You could tell them that lunch is almost ready, too."

"Will do." Fang stepped across the little kitchen to approach the hallway, where she only had to walk for a moment or two to find the room that Lightning had given to Vanille. "Hey, you guys alright?"

Lightning seemed to be scouring an instruction manual, while Vanille was holding two different parts of a cabinet against each other, trying to see how they could possibly fit together.

"Yeah." Lightning turned the page to narrow her eyes at a rather complicated diagram. "Why couldn't they assemble the damn thing before they delivered it?"

Fang almost smirked at Lightning's tone, and she walked over to examine the manual as well. "Serah says lunch is almost ready."

Vanille slowly placed both parts of the cabinet back down against the floor. "Yeah, I think we could use a break..." She smiled, and then she stretched out her arms, glancing around at the cozy little room she'd been given, at the shelves that held all of her trinkets, and at the bed that stood beneath the welcoming light of a tall window, though the rain made it look just a bit less cheery. "But we did manage to fix the bedside table!"

Fang looked over at the piece of furniture in question, where Vanille had previously reported that one of the legs was a bit too wobbly. "Looks good."

And with that, the three of them soon moved into the hallway, off towards the kitchen, where Serah assured them that the pasta was nearly cooked. And it was there, sitting around the kitchen table, it was there that Lightning finally decided to speak about something that had been on her mind throughout the entire morning and early noon.

"Fang and I have something to say." Lightning sniffed at the rich scent of the marinara sauce. "Fang, would you like to..?"

Fang took a moment just to listen to the sounds of the rain, to the soft hum of the stovetop fire, even the gentle burble of the boiling water. "Well, Light and I both think that we should all stick together again, but you both already know that." She cleared her throat, and she waited for both Serah and Vanille to meet her gaze. "Light and I, we really like this setup... And we like being near each other."

"Well, yeah." Vanille slowly tipped her head to the side with a rather curious look in her eyes, before she giggled quietly. "You don't exactly hide it..."

Fang bit back a smile. "Light and I decided-"

"Girlfriends." Lightning quickly stood up to help Serah place the spaghetti and the sauce into four identical bowls. "That's all we needed to say."

Serah almost seemed to pause at that, still holding a ladleful of marinara sauce. "Wait, you weren't already..?" She tried not to smirk at Lightning. "What the heck have you been doing until now, sis?"

Lightning gently cuffed Serah's shoulder, before she walked over to set one of the bowls down upon the kitchen table. "We didn't want to jump right into anything, not until we felt ready." She looked over her shoulder to give Serah a rather measuring look. "Word of advice... Never call yourself something if you don't feel absolutely sure that it's what you are." Lightning stepped back to pick up another bowl of pasta. "Fang deserves to know that I'm really sure about this."

Serah soon carried over two of the bowls as well. "I think I understand." She sat down between Fang and Vanille, where she slowly stirred at her own pasta with a fork. "It's more important to really know, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Lightning settled down as well, gazing out at her family, at those she wouldn't hesitate to ever defend; she felt a certain sensation, one that she hadn't felt in many years, a sense of unity, of pride in her companions, as well as in her own hidden strength. "And now... I know."

* * *

The early evening light shone in through the raindrops on the windowpanes. The sounds of rustling paper, of quiet cursing, they all soon gave way to the pattering sounds of the rain.

"Come on Light, we deserve one lazy day." Fang tried to gently coax Lightning away from trying yet again to assemble the cabinets, for even Vanille had given up about a half hour earlier. "Light, you said you'd take Saturday off."

Lightning peered at the diagrams for just a moment longer, and she wondered if they had in fact been given the wrong assembly manual. "Alright..." She felt Fang's hands touch her own wrists, leading her back up towards her feet, and then back into the hallway again.

"Sounds like they have a movie going in there." Fang reached up to gently stroke at the nearest side of Lightning's forehead, for she could sense that there was likely a headache throbbing there. "You want to watch?"

Lightning closed her eyes for a moment. "I still have some presents to wrap for tomorrow."

Fang glanced at the living room, where she could see the faint light of the television screen. "You should take a break first." She looked back at Lightning. "Come on, Light, no more working yourself to death."

"I'm not fragile..." Even so, Lightning let Fang lead her over towards the living room. "I can handle this."

"Light, you'd be a wreck by now if you weren't a lycan, and you know it." Fang watched the look in Lightning's eyes, the silent strength that still lingered there, the sheer power of her primal blood. "Rest a while, okay?"

Lightning looked down at the couch while Fang led her forward, and Vanille smiled at them, moving over to make room on the cushioned seats. Serah was sitting on one of the armchairs, and she had a pad of paper propped up on her lap, for she seemed to be writing something while she watched the movie out of the corner of her gaze.

"Hey, Light!" Vanille gestured at the television. "Do you want to watch something else?"

"No, it's fine." Lightning slowly leaned back against the sofa, and she closed her eyes again. "But if we could check the news during a commercial... I'd like to know how the weather looks for next week."

"Okay." Vanille smiled over at Fang, who was sitting at the other end of the couch. "I finished wrapping some of your presents, Fang!"

Fang fought back a smirk. "One more day to go, kiddo." She moved to prop her feet up against the coffee table, even when Lightning gently kicked them back down. "I'm actually looking forward to that birthday cake..."

Serah looked up from what she was writing. "I think you'd have to be pretty committed to acting grumpy to not look forward to cake."

Fang hummed in agreement, and her gaze drifted back over to the television screen, where a commercial had since taken up in place of the movie. "Check the weather, then? Let's hope the rains slows down."

And with a single tap to the remote, perhaps too simple of a gesture for what would inevitably happen next, Vanille turned the channel to something that none of them could possibly expect.

A clear voice echoed out from the image of a local newsroom, where several people sat facing each other before the camera. "While early reports of the autopsy have already confirmed your suspicions, Doctor, is it true that this could actually be a false positive?"

"We simply cannot rule anything out at this point." The man in the pale lab jacket turned to peer into the camera. "It's not unusual to see cases like this, false positives or otherwise, even samples far older than the year they were found in... But the fact that the bacterial residue, _fresh_ residue, initially tested positive for lycanthropy-"

Lightning's teeth suddenly sharpened of their own will, and she rose up to her feet, trying to not let her limbs shake.

"No..." Vanille slowly covered her eyes in her hands. "No, no, not _again_ -"

"Goddamn it." Fang felt a sharp snarl start to build within herself, swelling up in her lungs and throat. "Stupid _bastards_... They leave shit like this lying around, killing things in the middle of a damn city!"

"Fang..." Serah's gaze was wavering, and while she clutched the pad of paper very tightly, she managed to keep her voice from trembling. "It... It could have been an accident, look at that!"

Fang turned her seething gaze back towards the television screen, where a blurred photograph of a corpse was being shown in the bottom corner. While it clearly wasn't human, it was hard to tell if it was merely a dog or a wild animal. Lycanthropy, in a bacterial form, was usually fatal to anything but humans, who underwent a drastic physical transformation instead.

"Accident or not, we all need to lay low for a while." Lightning spoke in what sounded like a low, constant growl. "This could... It could all blow over if no other attacks occur; it's happened like this before." She thought back to a time when lycanthropic bacteria was found within the remains of a large rodent corpse during a routine study of urban disease, when the same sort of panic gripped the city for several weeks, before they all seemed to settle down again when no lycanthropes showed any further presence. "Still... We can't take any chances."

Serah reached down into her pocket for her phone, where she quickly entered a single message to Snow. _Have you seen the news today?!_

"Does this mean we'll have to stay inside?" Vanille sounded as if she was trying not to tremble. "If they... Euride, the blood tests-"

"Nobody's pricking our blood... Not then, not now." Fang watched the way that Lightning paced in slow, controlled steps, influenced by the primal need to survey the windows for any threats. " _Nobody,_ we're not letting them know."

Serah glanced down when her phone buzzed with a message. _Just looked. Are you safe?_

Serah felt her fingertips tremble against the little device, but she entered her reply just as swiftly as she could. _Yeah, we're all safe here... Are you okay?_ She sent the message off, before she glanced up at Lightning, and then back at the way each of them couldn't quite seem to keep still at all, far too influenced by what could very well become a greater threat.

Such fear, it came from the impending mob behavior, the sheer anger of their fellow humans, who often formed far greater numbers together to hunt down the very source of such a thing, often inflicting such blood tests due to peer pressure, or in greater cases, mandatory screening by the local government.

Snow's reply buzzed in. _Yeah, I'm good... This explains the shouting I heard earlier._

"Oh..." Serah slowly shook her head, before she tapped out another response. _Stay inside! Seriously, this is too dangerous... People act crazy whenever this happens._ She knew she needed to write something else, something that a normal human would say; it was only in order to protect her own identity, just in case their messages were unsecure. _If there really is a werewolf running around... It's just not worth the risk._

Vanille spoke up from the sofa. "Serah, are you okay?

"Yeah..." Serah sent off her reply again. "Just telling a friend to stay safe."

"It'll settle down before long." Lightning stood there beside the window, gazing out at the seemingly peaceful neighborhood, while her nails slowly tightened against the windowsill. "But until then... No risks."

* * *

The dull thud of his heartbeat sounded even louder than the low roar of the ocean waves. Silver fur drifted there within the salty tide, and Hope kept his head just above the surface, resting his chin against the sand. He'd never meant it, he told himself, he'd never meant for such uproar to occur, for the city around him to suddenly erupt in such panic and suspicion, enough to drive him away to the outskirts.

Hope whined quietly, thinking back to those old words that his mother once said, of the gentle sound of her voice, teaching him how to hide his presence from the world. If only such a place was as simple as the forest. Out there, he could fend off any attackers or even would-be thieves without causing anyone to panic as a result, for nature itself had a way of concealing such things, but in a city, in a world of tests, of tight security, of fear...

He closed his eyes when a cold raindrop hit his twitching nose. There was no use waiting there for too long, but with each stroke of the sea against his pelt, each gentle wave, it made him feel just a little bit more at ease.

Even if his guilt dragged him down to the very depths of desperation, Hope knew he could not risk leaving any more evidence of his presence, no more hunting, no more killing. Even if it meant finding his clothes again, living within the streets as a human... There was simply too much left at stake.

* * *

The dreams took her away that night, pitching and tumbling through the darkness, deep within the base fears of her wild heart. The crack of a gunshot, the blood, the screams still echoed in her ears, ringing out from so many years ago, yet it was enough to make her reel away and snarl so sharply out loud, to suddenly wake up within a thick and frigid sweat, lurching to sit upright.

And Fang's voice, so soft and groggy, it followed in her wake. "Lightning..?"

Lightning stared down at her own pale white fur, at the blunt claws that clutched so tightly at the bed sheets, and she shivered once, and then twice. Over the course of minutes, her ears gradually drooped down against her head, and she felt something tight unravel inside her chest, something that let the moisture in her eyes trickle down across her face.

"Shh..." Fang's presence was suddenly so close again, hugging her from behind, even if Lightning was rather massive within her lycan form. "Bad dream?"

Lightning's mind darted back to those phantom scents of blood, of her own family caught within the snare, struggling, crying out from the pain, _lost_. Her throat tightened, and her whole body almost shuddered when Fang's human fingertips moved to brush away those silent tears, chasing them from that soft white fur.

"I'm here." Fang pressed her cheek against the back of Lightning's neck. "I'm here, Light... We're safe, everyone's right here."

"Are we?" Lightning slowly buried her face into her hands, trying to keep herself from feeling like she was spinning so rapidly, like her stomach had been turned upside down and twisted into so many tight knots. "Or are we just waiting for another Euride? What if you're right..?"

"Lightning." Fang reached up to caress both of Lightning's wrists, slowly trying to soothe the beast away. "We'll make it through this."

"Hm." Lightning's upper lip curled in a defensive gesture, though it was not directed at Fang; she was still gazing out at the window, at the pale moonlight that shone so softly, and at the dark, frigid night itself. "We'll just have to see."

* * *

No matter how great the tension had been before, not even when the newspaper arrived with a front page report of the lycanthrope ordeal, nothing stopped the four of them from finding their way into the living room together in order to celebrate.

Fang almost smiled at the sight of the frosted cake on the coffee table, but the thought of Serah venturing outside to pick it up... Fang told herself not to worry over something that had already happened, but it was a very clear gamble to have made. Serah herself didn't look the least bit affected, though, so it was easy enough to let the issue slide, at least for the time being.

"Oh, oh! This one first..." Vanille grinned as she carried a few of the wrapped presents into the living room. "Light, hurry up!"

"She's not going anywhere, Vanille." Lightning soon appeared from the storage room, and she was carrying out quite a few wrapped gifts as well. "We have all afternoon."

Fang felt herself smile when the first present was placed into her hands, something within a brightly colored box. "Wonder what's in here..."

"Open it!" Vanille giggled and sat down on the sofa, watching the way that Fang tugged at the ribbons of the present. "I made this one, you know."

Fang soon lifted up the small lid of the box to reveal just a bit of soft, crinkled paper, which held a tiny painted figure within, a woodcarving of a rather usual creature. "Oh..." She smiled, holding it up to examine the fine craftsmanship, the great care that Vanille had put into the smaller details, along with the intricate paint. "I love it, Vanille."

Vanille smiled when Fang hugged around her shoulders, holding her so close. "Really?"

"Yeah." Fang turned the tiny figure over in her fingertips, gazing at all of the other details. "One of those antelope bucks we saw, right?"

Vanille nodded. "The ones with the big curly horns."

Fang grinned at the painted figure, which was spotted with deep brown colors and splotches of white, though it had a soft auburn hue overall. "It's beautiful."

Serah moved to sit down on the couch as well. "What sort of antelope is it?"

"I'm not actually sure..." Fang gently placed the little figure down against the soft paper again. "Maybe you could look it up later."

Serah held out one of the presents she was holding. "Here... I really hope you like this."

Fang took care not to rip any of the paper wrapping, carefully removing it by the tape, and her eyes soon widened at the sight of a small hardcover novel. "You know, I've heard about this one..."

Serah felt a tentative smile cross her lips. "Really? I wasn't sure if you'd be interested in a story like this, but it has a whole lot of the stuff you like, things like the myths you used to tell us about... The northern tales, you know?"

Fang reached over to hug Serah around the shoulders as well. "I'll start reading it as soon as I can."

Serah smiled rather widely, and she looked over to see the next present, something that Vanille set down on Fang's lap. Lightning smiled as well from her seat on one of the armchairs, watching the way that Fang soon held up the long green scarf, which was embroidered with a very delicate pattern upon the edges.

"Oh, kiddo..." Fang grinned at Vanille. "I was just thinking about getting one of these." She gently lifted it up to drape the fabric all around her neck, even with the store tag still attached. "Thank you, Vanille."

Serah offered the second present she was holding, something that looked rather flat due to the way it was wrapped. Fang accepted it with another soft smile, and she took great care again to keep the wrapping paper intact, before her eyes widened once more at what was waiting inside.

A dark, inky pigment had been manipulated across the thick canvass like water, and a keen set of feline eyes gazed out from the picture itself, deep within a soft swirl of pastel color. The focus of the painting, however, was the large, dark wolf who stood utterly opposite to the tawny wildcat, behind a layer of what looked like clear, almost abstract glass. Fang could see the bottoms of the paws that stood against the translucent surface, as if it was kept there by a strong source of gravity inside the glass itself, while cat merely lounged upon the opposite side, peering up at the viewer of the painting.

"Did you paint this, Serah?" Fang tried to catch each and every detail, all of the smaller, delicate intricacies within the scene. "It looks..."

"Like you." Serah leaned over to peer at the dark wolf, a being who almost seemed to look right back at her. "I checked out some basic painting books at the campus library... It was pretty fun to make."

Fang exhaled quietly, almost in awe. "And _why_ are you not going to art school?"

Serah shrugged. "Well, it's not really a professional piece... I'd have to learn a whole lot more about art to make a career out of it."

Fang reached over to hug Serah again. "Promise me you'll think about it?"

Serah smiled softly. "Okay."

And then, all eyes turned to Lightning, who still sat there with a few gifts atop her lap.

"We have a few things here from all of us." Lightning rose to her feet, and she soon carried the presents over to Fang. "Happy birthday."

Fang took care to open them as gently as the others, and she soon found a new set of rather fancy pajamas, along with some rather thick socks for the winter; she knew that such gifts were likely Lightning's idea, for they were the more practical kind of present, though the next few gifts could have been from anyone. There was a necklace, handmade, which consisted of a single thread of darkened leather and a raw, yet very beautiful stone as the pendant. Fang guessed that it was likely from Vanille, for the leather itself seemed rather familiar, and the stone looked like the kind that one could often find when digging around in the mountains of Gran Pulse, almost as shiny as a gemstone. There was also a box with homemade cookies, which Fang guessed was from Serah, though it could have been Lightning as well, considering the fact that she'd smelled something rather sweet baking in the oven on the previous day. And the last box, it held a large pad of colorful stationary and a rather sturdy pen, along with a set of various shaded pencils.

Lightning, who had since pulled up one of the chairs to sit nearer to the sofa, she smirked when Fang finished opening the presents from all of them. She soon reached over towards the coffee table for the last two gifts, the items that she herself had chosen.

"This one first." Lightning held out a thin box with a short red ribbon tied around it. "The other one goes with it."

Fang almost felt her breath quicken at the logo on the box itself, for she knew quite well what would rest within. "Light..." She quickly steadied herself, and she gently tugged the ribbon away, before she slowly lifted up the lid of the box.

And there, upon what looked like a dark velvet surface, was a knife as sharp as sin. A curved edge drew Fang's gaze to realize the sheer quality of the tool, and she saw that the front of the pointed tip was hooked inward to allow the wielder to use it for many different purposes, a true wilderness device. The edge glinted beneath the light of the afternoon, a length of polished steel, while a small etched emblem rested right beside the hilt. Fang slowly lifted the knife, gazing at the proud symbol of a beast, a roaring wolf with teeth that stood as sharp as any blade, and she let her gaze drift back towards the keen hue of Lightning's eyes.

"They were offering free engraving last week... I thought you might like to have a real hunting knife again." Lightning moved to hold out the second gift, one that had been wrapped by hand. "That other knife you used to clean the stag, it wasn't anything like the one you used to have."

Fang slowly began to pull the wrapping paper back by the tape, and she soon felt her heart quicken at sight of such intricate little stitches, and at those carvings, the dye-colored images of so many bright leaves, of mighty tree trunks, and of tiny pawprints circling all around the leather surface. Each side of the narrow case was stitched together by a dark, durable cord, and the size of it seemed to fit the blade perfectly, definitely measured beforehand, yet the only way to be sure of that fact was to sheathe it. And as she did so, Fang smiled at the metal buckle on one side, which looked as if she could easily strap it down to her belt, just like her old knife's sheath had done.

"Lightning." Fang felt her grip tighten against the leather itself, and she smiled even wider, speaking as softly as she could. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Lightning slowly leaned back in her chair, but that elusive smirk was back again, haunting the very corners of her lips. "So... Cake?"

Vanille piped up, gesturing at the coffee table and the knife. "You can try it out, Fang!"

"No, no sugar on this one..." Fang smirked, and she placed the sheathed knife down on her lap, before she glanced over at the table itself. The marble cake, frosted in a deep, almost emerald green, it was resting between all of the other presents that she'd placed back upon the coffee table. "Thank you for this... All of you." She tightly hugged both Vanille and Serah at the same time, holding them close with either arm. "Love you guys."

Lightning's smirk changed to something of contentment, of the warmth in her heart that began to beat so soundly, the love for her strange companions. She knew they would soon enjoy the rest of the day, and perhaps such a cheerful time would help soothe the fear away from all of them. Fang was there, so strong and steadfast, and she knew deep down that their little family would live on to face whatever else the world had in store for them.

* * *

The glimmering lights of the city shone on without sound, while a lone beast wandered the streets, hidden in the form of a young man. He spent the weeks with both hunger and cold, and though he'd often scraped by upon just his wits before, on the prey the world could offer him, he soon found himself slowing down, almost resigned to the looming threat of exhaustion.

Hope ignored the hunger, the deep pangs that ached with each passing day; they were only silenced by the scraps he could find laying about, for there was occasionally food offered out towards the poor.

The days blended into a cycle of rest and wandering, of cold city streets and the distant glow of the moon, beneath the phases of the lunar cycle. Those tales of werewolves that he'd once heard, if only it was as truly simple as a mere full moon. No, the change could occur whenever the wolf deemed itself to be needed, whether it was a sharp shout to leave a certain area or the very sounds of the city itself, crashing and blaring, lively as a raging beast, it often made his own inner nature try to protect itself. He could stifle it, of course, suppressing the need to flee and find safety, but such things quickly frayed himself from within.

It was only when he found a place that smelled of relative comfort, a place where people handed food out to those who looked just as down on their luck as himself, only then did Hope manage to find true rest for a while, slowly regaining his strength.

He would wait, as he always did, and then move on just as soon as the time felt right.

* * *

The air grew crisp with the first few hints of winter, but no frost had since formed upon the ground, or even against the bark of the trees. Fang moved throughout the forest without making a sound, for she knew exactly where to step to avoid the brittle branches or the crisp surface of the fallen leaves. A chill wind blew all throughout the outskirts of the forest, and Fang paused, breathing so deep of it. She could see the distant apartments just over the next ridge, where Lightning was likely still making pie dough in the kitchen, aided by both Serah and Vanille.

But Fang had chosen a different path that day, a trail that led her quite deep into the wilderness that waited within the city, where she soon found exactly what she'd sought out to capture.

And when she finally approached the stairwell, the path that led up to the second floor of the apartment building, Fang glanced around to make sure that nobody nearby was out and about, that no one could see what she was carrying, before she moved up to knock upon that familiar apartment door.

It was none other than Lightning who answered her call, but the look on her face when she caught sight of those bright, wild feathers...

"Hey, love." Fang smiled, and she held up a single pheasant by its long, speckled tail. "Want me to get these cleaned up or in the fridge?"

Lightning quickly stepped aside to let Fang into the front hallway, for the sight of a dead pheasant, along with two wild turkeys, it would likely upset anyone else who lived in the apartment complex.

Fang still held the pheasant out before her, between the two of them. "Just like old times, eh?"

"Fang... I was planning to buy a turkey this afternoon." Lightning almost wanted to deny just how good it felt, how it made her heart flutter when Fang leaned in to briefly kiss her cheek; it seemed to be such a primal thing, something so deep inside of herself, the instinctual feeling that occurred from being cared for, given the boon of a successful hunt, just like the very first time they had met. "Two turkeys?"

"Well, yeah... Serah's been going on and on about that boy from class." Fang leaned back to meet Lightning's gaze. "She's a real good judge of character, Light, and you'll earn a hell of a lot of favor with her if you agree with it."

Lightning almost wanted to scoff at the mere thought of such a thing; Serah had supposedly learned that her new friend from school, that he had no nearby family to spend Thanksgiving with, and a few days in advance, she'd asked Lightning if they could spare a spot at their dinner table. A _stranger_ , Lightning had replied, should have to earn such a thing, but Serah seemed rather adamant on inviting him, and that it was cruel to let a friend spend the holiday alone. And with the way the city still lingered on with such fear, even if it had lessened somewhat without any sign of an imminent lycan attack...

"Light." Fang's voice went very low, yet just as gentle as before. "Let her invite a friend to dinner, just as long as he promises not to bring along any of that weed... What harm will it do?"

Lightning tried to look away from her, to stand stalwart in her own position, but she knew it would only drive a wedge right into the issue, perhaps bringing more ill than good. "Fine."

"Trust me on this one... And I'll kick his ass if anything happens." Fang smirked, and she lifted her hand, the one that still held the two wild turkeys by their legs. "But you know how Serah is... That girl can sniff out danger in a person even better than I can."

"Yeah... You're not wrong about that." Lightning turned to approach the kitchen again. "We'll need to get some more preparation done today; the pies are already baking."

Fang sniffed at the sweet, sugary scents in the air. "I can tell."

"Thank you for this." Lightning paused in the kitchen to accept the pheasant from Fang's hand. "Reminds me of when we first met..."

Fang smiled, and she leaned in to press a rather soft kiss against Lightning's forehead. "Well, you know, you see a pretty girl out in the woods, the polite thing to do is to catch her some lunch." She knew Lightning could feel her smiling while she murmured against her skin. "Especially when that pretty girl is a lycan."

Lightning glanced down at Fang's belt, where the sheathed hunting knife was resting at her side. "We should clean these up."

"Yeah... Pheasant soup, you think?" Fang soon leaned away to hoist up the turkeys towards the kitchen counter, but she waited for Lightning to place a small plastic tarp down to keep any bacteria contained. "We'll have fun tomorrow, Light."

Lightning slowly leaned up to kiss Fang's cheek as well. "I know we will."

* * *

Through the darkness of midnight, Serah peered at the light of her phone, and before very long, she watched a text message appear on the screen. _You sure it's okay? If they aren't comfortable with a stranger being there, it's fine to just tell me to buzz off... I can always just buy a turkey sandwich for dinner. ;)_

Serah huffed very quietly, almost a low laugh, before she tapped out a reply. _Just remember what I told you about etiquette, okay? Lightning's_ _very_ _rigid with people she doesn't know, but that's just because she doesn't know how nice you are. She'll warm up after a while._

Snow replied after a moment or two. _Alright, I'll whip up something in the morning to bring along with me... Maybe some casserole? I still remember how to make it. Unless you're making extra dishes?_

Serah felt a warm smile cross her lips. _That would be lovely, Snow... We can always share the leftovers if we end up with too much._ She looked up into the light of her phone, before she sent her reply off with a soft, silent exhale.

No matter how many times she'd tried to teach Snow the basics of lycan etiquette over lunches and breaks between classes, he always seemed a little rough around the edges. It was just the subtle things, not making solid eye contact at first, being deferent... Because as much as Serah didn't mind the steady evolution of Snow's initial subdued nature into a more boisterous sense of confidence and a rather bright demeanor, it was more of an issue with other lycans. They often took after their wild cousins in a way that meant different families, different _packs_ , that they should all follow a general code of conduct. Normally, Serah thought, if Snow was only a human, he'd be exempt from it, but that just wasn't the case. Did Lightning even believe her explanation when she said that he'd never been taught such things? At least at that point in time, she couldn't possibly reveal that Snow had been... Serah almost shivered. _Bitten_ , at such a very young age.

She closed her eyes, trying not to let it get to her so much, but it still made a slight little chill crawl around beneath her skin. What would Lightning do if she knew?

A message made the phone buzz against her hand. _Does green bean casserole sound good?_

Serah tried not to bite at her bottom lip, and she slowly tapped out her reply. _Sounds great. :)_

* * *

A quick lunch gave way to the bustle of cooking preparation, a rather noisy ordeal of saucers and pans and cutting boards, of pots bubbling upon the stove and the rich scent of wild turkeys, two of which were steadily baking inside the oven.

"Don't put too much salt in it." Lightning was watching Fang prepare a big bowl of chopped potatoes, while Lightning herself was rather busy with slicing up a veritable rainbow of vegetables. "Fang, salt!"

"Alright!" Fang sighed, but she quickly placed the salt shaker back down. "I tasted one before, it didn't seem to have enough flavor."

Vanille piped up from the other side of the kitchen. "That's because your taste buds are finally busted from it!"

"I do _not_ have a sodium problem, Vanille..." Fang rolled her eyes, but she did lick off a bit of the residual salt from her fingertips, to which Lightning immediately pointed at the kitchen sink. "The rest of you just don't appreciate it like I do." She moved to wash her hands again.

"Hey, I appreciate salt." Serah looked up from where she was sprinkling various herbs into a pot of rather thick soup. "But you are a little crazy for it, Fang..."

"Everyone's a critic." Fang smirked as she wiped her hands down on a cloth towel, before she walked back towards the bowl of thick potato chunks. "How about pepper, then? Am I allowed to put pepper on it?"

Lightning gently elbowed Fang in the ribs. "Just don't kill our taste buds, too."

Fang was about to retort, or perhaps elbow Lightning right back in return, but a steady knock at the door made her pause. Before even Serah could even react, Lightning walked right off to answer it, perhaps to assure that she'd witness the very first impression that their new visitor made.

"Early, isn't he?" Fang watched the way that Lightning and Serah both moved so swiftly into the hall, though Serah was quite a few paces behind her. "Well... He can help with the preparations, then."

"I guess so." Vanille said a silent little prayer inside her head that Serah's friend wouldn't get off to the wrong foot with Lightning. "Oh, Serah... Good luck."

And there, at the doorway, Lightning unlocked the chain, and then the doorknob lock itself, before she drew the door wide open just to brace her arm on the oppose side, effectively blocking Serah from moving ahead of her.

Lightning peered up at the first glimpse the stranger, the man who stood outside the door, and she almost narrowed her eyes at the sheer impression of his lofty height. "Right... Ground rules." She ignored the way that Serah murmured so quietly beside her, likely trying to defuse the sudden confrontation. "First rule, nothing illegal crosses this doorway, is that clear?"

Snow, who was holding a small casserole dish with both hands, slowly began to smirk at her. "Yes ma'am..."

Lightning almost let the urge slip to snarl at him, yet she merely tightened her teeth against each other. "Second rule, anything that-"

"Lightning!" Serah finally spoke up, and she tried to tug Lightning's arm back from the doorway. "Light, come on! He's a friend, not a... You know."

Lightning looked down at where Serah was still trying to pry away her iron grip from the doorframe. "Second rule, you'll do _nothing_ to endanger any of us, or there will be _consequences_." She spoke each word in a low whisper, yet the sheer strength in her voice, the dark, steely tone, it spoke louder than any other word she could say. "...Is that clear?"

Snow, who had almost seemed amused at the previous display, his face went utterly serious at the sound of that, and he gave her a short, polite nod. "It's clear."

"Alright." Lightning finally dropped her arm, yet she moved to walk back towards the kitchen before Serah could even formally introduce the two of them. "You're early, so either pull up a chair or lend us a hand."

Serah, with a slight flush on her face, all while wishing that Lightning could at least stop for a few formalities, she stood up on her tiptoes to whisper something to Snow. "She really means you should help out; it's just to see if you're useful or not."

Snow slowly smirked again, and he stepped in through the doorway. "Useful..? Sure." He smiled even wider at the sight of the nearby kitchen. "Let's rock."

* * *

As much as Lightning tried to deny the fact that a mere stranger, a _stranger_ who Serah seemed to play up in every way, as much as she tried to find any excuse to remove his presence from her house, she couldn't help but admit that he seemed rather handy around the kitchen.

After introductions, where Fang shook Snow's hand with a sly smirk of her own, while Vanille had nearly gasped at how tall he was, they all soon fell back into the rhythm of preparing Thanksgiving dinner. The holiday, Lightning remembered, was mostly a celebration of the harvest season, but it also occurred during a historical period of time. An old bitter war, a bloody dispute between the settlers of Cocoon and the natives of Gran Pulse, though the Gran Pulsians were wanderers, nomads, they still held claim over certain lands. While in recent times, the day of giving thanks didn't hold much public meaning in any historical context, it was known to some as the end of a rather violent era, when the two nations signed a treaty, granting the nomads a territorial claim over what would later become modern Gran Pulse.

"Where'd you learn to do that, eh..?" Fang was watching how Snow chopped up a bundle of chives within mere seconds. "You're quicker than you look."

Snow flashed her a bright smile. "Just a _very_ strict foster mom... She made sure I could cook for myself before I learned anything else." He soon scooped up the chives into a small bowl, before he handed it over to Vanille. "Stuff like this, though... It's more than I could handle all at once."

Fang smiled as well. "That's why we've got the four of us." She reached over to stir at a simmering pot of creamy pheasant soup. "So, you really don't know any other lycans around here, Snow? That's what Serah told us."

"Yeah, that's the gist of it." Snow looked back at the cutting board when Vanille handed him some different herbs to chop. "I grew up from place to place, home to home, I couldn't really tell anyone what I was." He glanced over at where Serah was tending to a boiling pot of potatoes. "It almost feels weird to meet a pack like this."

Lightning suddenly glanced up from the food that she was preparing. "We're not... Wolves."

Fang felt her smile suddenly fade away, and she almost felt the urge to remind Lightning of her promise, but it wasn't truly a step back from that. It was quite true that they weren't really wolves, but to deny that lycans could mimic pack behavior, even embrace it at times, it made her wonder if Lightning was truly still trying to accept herself.

But it seemed as if Serah had taught Snow very well, for he didn't disagree with what Lightning said, nor did he refer to their group as a pack again. A certain, somewhat comfortable silence fell over them all for a while, at least until Serah commented on the way that Snow's casserole looked rather interesting, almost like a stir fry. And while they spoke among themselves, Fang walked over to find something else to prepare while standing beside Lightning.

They shared a small glance from the corner of their eyes, a look of both slight evasion and understanding, before Fang squeezed Lightning's shoulder in reassurance.

* * *

Something within the air smelled richly of warm autumn spices. Hope almost thought to twitch his nose at it, before he realized that he was human again. Was it the soup kitchen, he wondered, the local shelter that smelled so interesting? Maybe they were cooking an early dinner...

He wore the elkskin blanket on his shoulders, which kept the recent chill away. He'd had to guard it relentlessly, glaring at any of his peers who gave it more than a second glance, though such interactions weren't always the norm. There had been a night, he remembered, when a woman in the streets kept shivering so loudly that he'd tossed over the blanket to her just to get some restful sleep of his own. Though he didn't expect to get it back afterward, he'd woken to the sight of her sitting there beside him, while the elkskin itself was folded quite neatly on the ground between them.

"You mutter in your sleep." She'd spoken it with a slight rasp in her voice, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm. "Who's chasing you? Bad move to sleep out in the open like that."

Hope remembered looking at her with such a blank gaze, before he merely closed his eyes again. His fellow drifters, they all seemed to flock to the alleyways near the shelter, for the indoor sleeping mats were often occupied far beyond capacity. But the kitchens, those were always open for more than they could hold.

He sniffed at the air, before he slowly recognized the rich scent of turkey, along with the sweet aroma of some marshland fruit he had once heard of, a berry with a rather tart flavor. Maybe the shelter kitchen was taking part in the local holiday?

Hope felt a small, tentative smile cross his face.

* * *

Over a slim glass of wine, Lightning wondered if perhaps Serah had taught her friend not to interject or reply to anything she said with much more than a word or two, for that certainly seemed to be what he was doing.

They'd all finally sat down at the kitchen table, for their was no dining room in the apartment to eat dinner in. Plates were filled up, glasses poured with various levels of alcoholic beverages, some with none at all, and even Vanille was allowed a sip or two of a rather mild wine, though she seemed more keen on the flavor of fresh apple cider. Snow accepted a small glass of wine as well, and he smiled with each sip he took, never quite meeting the keen, watchful look of Lightning's eyes, and he kept very quiet while they began to dish out their meals.

With a quick flash of a carving knife, Fang began to serve up the main course itself, one of the two wild birds who had met with a rather quick end by her own teeth. Having been plucked of every feather, the wild turkeys didn't look nearly as bulky as a domestic species, making it even clearer why Fang had chased down the pair of them. "Okay Vanille, this is how you carve a turkey..."

"You've shown me a million times, Fang." Vanille giggled when Fang suddenly flipped the entire turkey over upon the serving plate, carving it from a different angle. "You're really good at it, though."

Fang smiled at her. "Of course I am... You don't cut up a 'million' birds and not get good at cutting them." She looked up at the rest of the table. "Alright, who wants drumsticks?"

In the back of Lightning's mind, while she watched the faces of her family bloom with warm smiles and even warmer words, she herself couldn't help but smile as well, at least from the way Serah quietly joked with her new friend... Somehow, Lightning knew that such a holiday would likely be just as cheerful as any other. She knew it by the rich scents of the food, by the way each different dish was passed around to those at the table, even by the way Snow's own contribution didn't clash with the other dishes, she knew that while her own doubts were well-founded, that they were perhaps too rigid for such an occasion.

So with a small, hidden smirk of her own, Lightning took a brief sip of wine, before she spoke. "Which courses do you take at the university, Snow?"

And the look on his face was suddenly worth the risk of letting a stranger into her home, enough that Lightning hid another smug smile into a second sip of her wine.

"Oh, uh-" Perhaps Snow hadn't even expected for her to acknowledge his existence. "I've been taking a few economic studies, just basic stuff for now... Small business, mostly, but I've been looking into a few other things just in case."

"Small business." Lightning slowly swirled her wineglass between her fingertips, and she silently inhaled the scent of it; such a beverage was a rarity, only for holidays, for it was rather difficult to find a decent variety of wine while on such a tight budget. "Interesting career choice for a lycan."

Snow glanced down at the large slice of turkey that had since been placed upon his plate. "Yeah... Working at the shop can only get me so far." He looked over at Serah again. "I'll still teach you the basics of auto repair if you like."

Serah smiled. "I might just take you up on that... Even if I don't need a car these days."

Lightning watched the way that they looked at each other, and she slowly began to relax from the air of gentleness in Snow's gaze. "It's still a good skill to learn."

Fang soon lifted up a bit of meat from the first carved turkey. "Light, how does this look?"

"Perfect." Lightning moved her plate over to help Fang dish it up. "Thank you."

"No problem." Fang grinned at her. "The real trouble is chasing these panicky buggers down, you know... They gobble a whole lot less than they flap around and peck at you."

Snow's eyes almost seemed to widen slightly. "You... Hunted these?"

"Course I did." Fang started to carve off her own portion from the turkey. "What, you think a supermarket would have birds as skinny as these? These are wild critters."

Snow kept silent for a long moment, and he only spoke again after taking a small bite of the meat in question. "How do you hunt things like this?"

Fang caught the sudden look in Serah's eyes, something akin to surprise, or even apprehension. "What do you mean? You chase it down until it gets tired of flying and jumping around." She silently clicked her teeth together. "Then you grab it by the neck and bite."

"Is it really that simple?" Snow's voice almost sounded like a whisper. "I used to... Try to live away from anyone, just staying out in the woods, but there wasn't much game I could even catch."

Fang tried her best not to look dubious at that, before a rather bemused smile crossed her face. "Huh... Looks like we've got to teach you how to be a lycan, boy."

Vanille giggled quietly again, while Lightning merely kept eating her dinner, not quite interested enough to comment on the conversation at hand.

Snow tried to smile as well. "What, like hunting lessons?"

Fang moved to cut up the portion of turkey on her plate. "Yep... Can't have a lycan who can't hunt for himself, can we? It's a matter of pride." She glanced over at Lightning to give her a rather clever wink. "What do _you_ think, love? Should we help the poor boy out?"

Lightning didn't look up from her glass of wine. "Only if he teaches those vehicular basics to Serah in exchange."

Serah suddenly felt a slow, almost blooming sensation inside her heart, something warm, somewhat fluttery, if only for the air of acceptance that began to overtake Lightning's outward stance. Perhaps the two of them, Snow and Lightning, perhaps they wouldn't be quite so swift to tear each other's throats out after all...

"Sounds like a deal to me." Snow grinned, glancing at each of the people around him, those who had lived quite a bit of their lives out in the wilderness, a world he had never truly known before. "What do you think, Serah? I could show you how to tune up a motorcycle while I'm at it."

Serah began to grin as well. "Oh... Now that sounds really fun."

Lightning held back her thoughts on such a thing, for even if that sort of vehicle seemed like a rather unnecessary danger in her own views, the look that began to shine in Serah's eyes... It was enough to leave both herself and Snow at peace.


	10. Chapter 10

The world around them began to approach the final stage of autumn. Gone was the brilliant vibrancy, the last swirls of color up in the trees, and gone was the notion that the open air could be anything else but sheer cold. Fang felt it, even then, even when her skin had been so sheltered beneath a thick double coat of her own fur. Lycans took after their more wild cousins in that way, with a soft undercoat and the coarser topcoat, which carried its own trademark with the curved dorsal cape of a wolf. It was something that she could often stifle in her smaller forms, but never when she felt the blood running so quickly, when the trees were creaking back and forth in the steady wind, echoing with the promise of winter. But the ground itself was still quite dry, not even a hint of snow, and the scent of a late ocean rain loomed deep within the chill of the night, enough that Fang paused to sniff it out.

The woods were almost utterly silent in the dead of night, but she could still hear the hollow leaves rustling along the forest floor. The distant squeal of a rodent made her ears prick right up, and Fang turned towards the sight of a nearby riverbed, though even the bottom was completely dry in such a late season. It was more than likely that the little mice of the forest were hiding down in their holes or out scurrying for food within the darkness, but Fang held little interest in the thrill of chasing them down, at least not for the time being. Though it seemed as if such a sentiment was not shared among everyone...

Lightning appeared without a sound. Her ears were high, as was her tail, the utter image of confidence, for she did have good reason to be. From between those long, deadly teeth, slowly dripping down into the shadows, was the blood of a rather sizable rodent.

Fang lifted her chin to sniff at the scent of it, and she took a moment just to examine how big the creature was, far too fluffy and plump to have put up a challenge, much less an excitable chase. "There aren't many predators out here, are there?"

Lightning slowly began to settle herself down against the oppose edge of the riverbed, and she dropped the slain rodent between her feet. "Hawks, eagles... But nothing can really get into the denser forests besides domestic cats." She used one of her deft paws to hold the little creature in place, while her teeth moved to carefully strip back both the gristle and fur, searching for the tender flesh that awaited beneath it. "Nothing but us."

"Really? No foxes, fisher cats, weasels?" Fang sniffed at the air again, before she turned to peer at the distant lights of the city, the glow that illuminated the clouds above. "Guess they'd be scared away by all of this."

"I've caught fox scents in the other nature preserves before." Lightning soon crunched one of the tiny bones between her hind teeth, a technique that they all often used just to get at the marrow within; extra nutrition was an absolute boon in meager times, and even in a more stable situation, it proved rather useful to seek out. "But not here, not this close... They'd probably rather dig in the garbage than hunt for voles."

" _That's_ a vole?" Fang slowly squinted to try and examine the blooded mass of flesh and fur, but it was indistinguishable from any other rodent at that point. "Looks more like the size of a rat."

One of Lightning's ears flicked off to the side, and then back again, comparable to the gesture of a human shrug or puzzlement. "It didn't have a rat tail."

Fang exhaled into the darkness, before she slowly opened her mouth to yawn. It was a bit later in the day than they'd usually be wandering out through the forest, but Lightning insisted that it was far safer to traverse the land in their more feral forms when it was dark and cold, when the average human wouldn't be brave enough to leave the marked trails of the park. And with both Serah and Vanille safe at home in the apartment, likely watching a movie or chatting into the early hours of the night, Fang had found no objection to venturing into the woods for a while.

"This was basically dinner for a few years... Before we saved up." Lightning chewed a bit of the more gristly flesh between her molars. "We'd catch squirrels and rats whenever we could find them, but the animals that lived closer to the city always made my stomach twist." After a moment of silence, she snuffled softly, and her elegant black nose twitched beneath the pale light of the moon. "Serah nearly got sick from one... And how was she supposed to go back to primary courses and explain why she was about to throw up off of a bad meal of rat flesh? _That_ was when I knew we needed a home again, somewhere we could store up and make our own food."

"She got sick off of a rat?" Fang slowly lowered her ears, and she sat down against the dry riverbank. "Must've been one hell of a rat..." Lycanthropes were rather tolerant to many afflictions of the world, Fang knew that fact better than anyone, for the only natural chemical in existence that could outright kill a lycan originated from within monkshood, the plant aconitum _... Wolf's bane._

"A rat." Lightning spoke with just the slightest hint of a snarl. "My own little sister, desperate enough for alley rats..." She lowered her snout down to rip back a long length of the vole flesh. "I don't disapprove of a life like this, Fang... But like you said, we can't have it both ways." Lightning's fur bristled within the darkness. Due to the gathering winter chill, it had grown much thicker and fluffier than before, a far cry from her thin summer coat. "We can't live somewhere without ample prey and hope to live without being human, and we can't be human in the far reaches."

Fang almost thought to protest; she herself had spent plenty of time as a human in her youth, even if it was mostly spent within the solitude of her tiny family, but she knew the deeper meaning implied. Lightning wished for her own childhood as well, for the days of living in a city or the group home, safe from harm, the days when Serah would likely come back home with all of the knowledge she had learned during the school day. It was a time, Serah had once said, a time when their mother spoke of the life that she prayed they could someday lead, a life where they would build their own home and prosper, to keep their wild blood alive, carrying on the secret legacy of so many lycans before them.

"We just can't have the prime benefits of each world." Lightning spoke in a soft whisper, punctuated by the deep snapping of bone, so much that she had to murmur each of her words above it. "Maybe we really are wolves... But it's not for lack of trying."

"It's not like that, Light." Fang took a moment to peer at Lightning's thick white fur, much more akin to an arctic wolf than any true beast of the forest; perhaps her bloodline was more attuned to the north, to the lycans who braved the bitter cold on a daily basis, living their lives within those sprawling, endless tundras. "Listen, it's more like... Like a crossbreed." She rose back up to her feet, shaking out the leaves from her fur. "You know why there's no cure for lycanthropy? Because 'curing' it means we'd die."

Lightning's ears began to flatten against her head. "I already know-"

"It's in our _blood_ , our genetics." Fang stepped down across the dry grass, over the small ledge of dirt that led down to the bottom of the dry river, before she tensed her limbs for a long, vaulting jump up towards the other edge; she could feel the way her dark fur rippled in the air, how the lithe muscles in her legs stretched out just as gracefully as a dancer, before she felt her paws hit and grip the opposite side of the riverbank. "There's no cure for being what we are... Lycanthropy isn't a curse, not really."

Lightning slowly began to lick the blood from her teeth, and her gaze flickered away from Fang, though her stance didn't give the slightest impression of submission. No matter the stories that were often told of wolves, the way that popular interpretation instinctively tried to humanize an animal hierarchy, there was something both inhuman and utterly human there at the very same time. She was resting against the ground, a bit lower than Fang, but her stance spoke of both control and utter poise, a tall neck and a tail slowly drifting back and forth, a face with high ears and a lifted chin. Dominance, in a sense, was simply not the act of wresting submission from another member of a family group, it was _knowing_ that one was in charge. It wasn't to say that fights never occurred, even within certain close packs, for younger family members often had an innate sense of the room that they had yet to grow into, and if one was to act out of place, parental figures would need to instill order once again. But even such behaviors were still quite a far cry from the old lore of human kings and conquerors, those who rose up above all others in search of complete dominance.

No, Fang thought, while she watched the utter calm of Lightning's eyes, even when they looked pointedly away from her, it was not in the nature of a wolf to seek dominion, it was to _lead_. The concept of an 'alpha', while usually outdated and riddled with false reasoning, still held a small core of truth to the matter; a leader was almost always needed within a pack, and the submission of other wolves was more of mere deference to the very strength and wisdom of that leader. If any danger was to arise, Lightning would be the first to snarl and stand against it, but if she was to merely flatten her ears and approach, then lycans like Serah and Vanille would hold back, waiting to see where her judgment would bring them.

But Fang was different. Where that same sense of dominance usually manifested into the two leaders of a pack, Fang knew that she was more of a counterweight, she was the one who took control upon the chance that Lightning was unfamiliar with any given situation, in which case the hierarchy shifted. The two of them hardly ever began to lead at the same time, only if there was a true need for them to do so; it was more often that Lightning led whenever she was capable, and when that capability waned, Fang would step in to take charge. There were exceptions, of course, times when Fang would lead them when there was no danger, perhaps to teach Serah how to fish for minnows or show all of them something interesting that she had found. And Lightning, despite how rigid she might have first appeared, over the years, she became rather flexible to the flux of power. She would follow Fang without question, trusting in the strength of her leadership, and she would fight relentlessly if Fang didn't chose to retreat from a skirmish. And the memory of such things, Fang recalled them all too well. As she watched those long, curved teeth rip and tug at the flesh of Lightning's quarry, Fang thought back to the very image of a massive lycan on the prowl, a mere blur of white in the trees, before those deadly teeth would strike down upon their mark in a flash of blood and sharp, snarling roars.

Lightning cracked another bone with the strength of her jaws, yet Fang knew that a mere rodent bone was less than a twig to that mighty bite force. She had seen limbs torn clean off with that mouth, the leg of an elk severed by so many small bites and then a swift rip of flesh and sinew, the low pop of bone and cartilage, utter music to the ears of a wolf.

A certain swell of pride suddenly thrummed so brightly within Fang's chest; while most might only see macabre, the primal senses of a wolf called out for such power and prowess, and to have caught prey so skillfully, devouring it to strengthen their pack... It was only a sense of love that crossed between the two of them, looking gaze to gaze again, enough so that Fang dared approach her. The usual etiquette would advise the very opposite stance, to keep a good distance away from one who was eating her share of a kill, but the look in Lightning's eyes had grown warm and somewhat gentle, so Fang quickly walked over to settle right down beside her.

"Hm... You're warm." Lightning lifted her head away from her quarry, sniffing at one of Fang's ears. "You've almost got your winter pelt in already."

"So do you." Fang looked down at the thick scruff of white fur on the back of Lightning's neck. "Yours always grows in so much quicker... Lasts a lot longer, too." She leaned in to rest her head against Lightning's back, cuddling up against her soft fur. "Such a nice coat."

Lightning snorted softly. "Mom once claimed to be a genetic freak... Lycans aren't supposed to look like us. Pink hair, white fur? We're not normal in either case."

"Yes you are." Fang rumbled a bit, not quite a growl, though the sound was much less than contented with that statement. "I've seen weirder hair colors than pink... And white fur is a damn blessing in the winter." She rumbled again, though it was more akin to a low, humming purr. "You've probably just got northern blood."

Lightning nibbled at one of the last bits of rodent flesh. "Northern blood?"

"Yeah." Fang turned to nudge at the back of Lightning's neck, pressing her nose down against that coarse ruff of white fur. "I'd bet quite a few people in Cocoon have it... They say the northerners sailed here long ago, and that they were just as pale as the place they came from." She moved up to rub her cheek against the back of Lightning's head; much like wolves, lycans were host to several scent glands, some of which were utterly ignored due to their more human sensibilities. Sniffing at someone's hindquarters was simply an unacceptable act, and it was considered _incredibly_ offensive between lycans, but the glands behind their ears, as well as those upon the corners of their cheeks, they were often used for olfactory recognition. And in even more familiar cases, the stimulation of such scent glands could be used for the sake of mutual comfort, in the 'marking' of one's close friend, considered a deep, definite display of affection.

Fang took a long breath of the frigid air, before she moved to nuzzle Lightning's neck again, taking refuge in her warmth. "But as for the pink hair... Who knows? Maybe you've got the blood of a fae spirit."

Lightning snorted softly again. "Are there even any fae stories from the north?"

"Plenty." Fang closed her eyes for a moment or two, listening to the way that Lightning picked at the scraps of the vole. "Creatures from the otherworld, beasts with magic... Elves and giants, all sorts of stuff."

Lightning suddenly yawned with a low, soft sound in her throat, before she slowly rolled away to rest upon her side, nudging at Fang's cheek with her nose. "Just fairy tales."

"Yeah, probably." Fang's tail wagged back and forth, and she moved back over to rest right beside Lightning. "But you never know... _We_ exist, and that almost sounds like a fairy tale."

One of Lightning's ears flicked off to the side again. "But we're not magic, are we?"

"Dunno." Fang yawned as well, before she quickly reached out to lick away some of the vole blood from Lightning's mouth, even when she tried to squirm back from it. "It's something supernatural, that's for sure."

"You're-!" Lightning fought back a giddy little yelp from her throat, and she suddenly whacked at Fang's face with her paws, trying to wriggle out of reach. "...You're so gross."

Fang started to smile, though the gesture was more the natural effect of opening her mouth and perking up her ears, for she couldn't quite move her lips in that way. " _Gross?_ I'm just making sure you don't have any blood stains on you..." She licked at her own muzzle as if to demonstrate. "What, do I have wolf breath or something?"

Lightning gently kicked at Fang's belly, before she rolled even further away. "Gross." She rose back up to shake out the leaves from her fur, before she moved to scratch at the ground, digging up a small hole in which to hide the vole remains. "And that's stealing."

"Stealing?" Fang stood up as well, still wagging her tail. "You got to eat that whole damn thing, missy, I'm just cleaning up after you."

Lightning rolled her eyes, something that Fang thought looked utterly strange on a wolf, though it was endearing all the same.

"But really... It's good to know how much prey is actually out here." Fang licked at her own teeth, sensing the sheer strength of her jaw. "About how much have we cut costs from hunting our own dinners? Probably enough for a few extra Yuletide presents."

"Yuletide..." When Lightning had finished burying the scraps of fur and bone, she slowly looked up at the sky, gazing at those faint few pinpricks of starlight, though she couldn't see the slightest hint of snowfall. "Still feels like autumn, doesn't it?"

"Way too cold for autumn." Fang began to shake out her long fur again, so very coarse and dark. "You've still got a spot, there."

Lightning wrinkled up her nose when Fang leaned in to lick at her mouth again. "Weirdo..." She tipped her head back, though she nearly laughed when Fang still kept up her pursuit, trying to lick more of the blood away. "Fang!"

Fang chuckled as she gave chase; she rose up momentarily upon her hind limbs while Lightning tried to whack at her face with those strong white paws, and they suddenly grappled, leaping and dancing about in the leaves. Lightning jumped back, before she rolled off to the side to nip at one at Fang's legs, but it was only mere moments before they were both tumbling all around, biting and yelping at each other as quietly as they could.

Perhaps to an outside gaze it would seem as if they were fighting, but such rough play was merely the nature of lycans. Even the longest of teeth did little harm to such a thick coat of fur, and blunt claws would only serve to help their paws grip against each other, pushing back and wrestling all around in the fallen leaves.

"What's gotten into you?" Lightning tried to sound cross or at least a little bit annoyed, but her heart was beating so swiftly from the playful look in Fang's eyes, and she couldn't help but bite down at her whole snout, gently pinning it to the ground. Though when she tried to speak again, her voice was muffled against Fang's muzzle, so Lightning quickly leaned back to sit upright once again, resting within a patch of the upturned leaves. "I didn't think vole blood was that desirable..."

Fang smiled widely, panting into the crisp air of the night; her breath fogged up into a dense mist around her mouth, and her teeth almost seemed to gleam beneath the light of the moon. "Maybe it's not the blood I'm really after."

Lightning rolled her eyes again. "Gross." She shook away even more of the leaves from her fur, before she looked back down at Fang, who was still resting flat on her back. "It's not... Not a thing, is it?"

Fang slowly quirked her head to the side. "What is?"

"Lycans." Lightning reached up with one of her paws to try and clean off her own snout, which she soon began to lick at just to help wash the blood away. "Lycans... You don't think anyone really looks at each other like that, or... Takes it further? They don't-"

"Oh... Nah, I don't think it happens, probably wouldn't feel like much anyway." Fang seemed to sober slightly, and she rolled over to rest on her belly again. "You know, they always use 'beastlike' qualities with that kind of stuff... Cheesy romance novels, old cartoons, all that junk." She suddenly yawned with a slight whining sound in the back of her throat, before she started to shake out her long fur once more. "You think any of them realize that only a few animal species on the entire planet ever get intimate for fun?"

Lightning would have frowned if she could. "I've got a weird feeling that at least a few bored lycans out there..."

"Eh." Fang yawned again. "Nothing would've happened from it."

Lightning paused. She could still feel the chill of the wind in her fur, and she slowly tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I once asked my mom if I was born as a kid or a puppy." Fang sat up as well. "Over there, they're not so shy about telling kids this sort of stuff; she said that before I was born, she could change into her full lycan form and I'd still been there, but she couldn't change into her smaller forms without it hurting like crazy." She looked down at herself. "Makes sense, an unborn human is bigger than a wolf pup... So I asked her if lycans _could_ be born as pups instead, and she said that everything she knew about our physiology said no." Fang turned to look at Lightning again. "The change is... It's not like we get much out of those parts, anyway; whatever sort of original design went into it, spirits, gods, nature, whatever... We just weren't meant to have children unless they were human like us."

"I see." Lightning looked at the dry riverbed again, and she slowly rose up to her feet. "When I was little, I remember learning that I could turn into something else... But I don't think I ever thought about what form I was born in." She began to walk off down the winding path of dirt and leaves, before she looked back to check if Fang had followed. "...My parents hardly ever just walked around in their full forms, or even the smaller ones."

"Makes sense, living in a city." Fang's ears perked up the distant call of an owl. "But I'd bet you were an _adorable_ puppy."

Lightning huffed ever so quietly, still trotting on down the river path. "Puppies are mostly all the same."

"Not true..." Fang followed on after her, keeping to a rather quick pace. "A little Lightning puppy, that'd be the cutest damn thing."

Lightning's ears went somewhat flat against her head. "What, like... Me when I was a puppy, or..?"

Fang flicked her tail from side to side, not quite a wag, but close. "Nah, I can't see you with kids, not unless you really wanted them."

Lightning almost seemed to pause, though she quickly went right back to the path ahead. "Bringing a child into a life like that... Running, fighting, always watching your back..."

"I get what you mean." Fang's fur drifted in the wind, just a soft shadow in the dark. "But I think the four of us turned out okay."

"I suppose so." Lightning moved to leap up the riverbank, before she tensed her hind limbs to jump even higher, moving up along a ridge within the forest floor. "So, where is this place?"

"I'll show you..." Fang leapt up as well, landing neatly upon all four of her paws. "It's right next to running water, really easy to hide our scent." She leaned in as she walked, and she gently nuzzled Lightning's neck again. "I've missed this, you know."

Lightning returned the touch, nudging at Fang's chin with her snout. "Missed wandering around in the woods?"

Fang rumbled quietly, a deep, steady laugh. "I've missed being with you... Being wolves again."

Lightning closed her eyes for just a moment, just a sliver of denial, the wish to be anything but what she was, before she briefly touched Fang's cheek with her nose.

"The old stories called them partners of the soul." Fang spoke in just a murmur, and she paused to stand very still again, gazing into those keen yellow eyes. "If you wanted to be with someone forever... If you were absolutely sure, it was said to be the strongest bond ever known."

Lightning stood just there, a pale figure in the darkness, a ghost in the woodlands, and she knew that no matter how cautious she was, that there had never been anyone else to make her heart flutter so swiftly, to make her want to run up and be as close as physically possible. But she held on towards her sense of control, gripping it so very tight, for she knew that such things were not to be taken lightly.

"No matter what happens, no matter if they find us again..." Fang looked so tall and proud in the moonlight, steady and muscular, as if nothing could ever knock her down. "I think you know what I'll do."

And Lightning remembered it, that sudden scent of blood, of Fang's snarling maw being set loose upon those who would threaten them, standing there as a beast of such sheer size and power, so much that Lightning herself had almost felt frozen upon first seeing it. It had been a time when their days were often spent dreaming, when they traveled through the long nights without a sound, trying to put as much distance between themselves and a city that smelled of death as they possibly could. Fang had led their way onward through the forests, and she taught her new companions all of the best ways to track down prey in the very heights of summer, when the wild animals were spry and full of life.

It had been on a night when it finally felt as if they were safe enough to rest, when Lightning had woken up beside her two younger companions, only to realize that Fang wasn't still slumbering there with them. Even in a human form, it had been easy enough to track her down, for their noses were never less than utterly keen. A winding trail led her through the woodlands, and it was within the shallows of a placid, moonlit lake that Lightning found her friend again.

At that age, Fang stood at roughly eight feet in height, likely a bit taller, though a full lycan walked with bent knees, which carried them lower to the ground; lycanthropes were digitigrade, meaning that they walked upon toe digits, much like their animal cousins. Her pelt was a dark, shiny hue with long streaks of subtle red, though it was all the more visible beneath the bright moonlight, and her ears stood longer and taller than any ears that Lightning had ever seen.

And it had been the face of a child who looked up at her then, even in her young teens; the sight of such a beast, no mere wolf, as she had usually seen, but a _lycanthrope_ , a woman who stood within the mightiest of all forms, tall and rippling, strong enough to knock a skull clear off of a human spine, with teeth that looked as if they could crack apart even the strongest boulders in the world...

"Why?" Fang hadn't yet turned to look at her, but Lightning knew that her presence couldn't possibly have been missed by such a keen nose. "Fear scent... Why are you afraid?"

Lightning, at roughly twelve years old, thought that it had been rather glaringly obvious why she might be a intimidated by such a thing, but she didn't voice it aloud.

Even kneeling there within the shallows, Fang stood far taller than Lightning. "You don't have to be scared." Those watchful eyes, such a solid shade of gold, bright and unflinching, as she turned to face her friend, it looked as if she could peer right through anything she saw. "You know I won't hurt you, right?"

"...I know." Lightning remembered how small her voice felt, how she her stood there like a mere blade of grass before a mighty tree, no matter her own inner nature. "You're just... You look stronger than anyone I've ever seen."

"Hm." Fang knelt down even further, resting there beside the edge of the lake. "That's a good thing, yeah? Better to chase off anything nasty..." She flashed a wide smile; while their smaller forms could scarcely move their lips, full lycans were blessed with a much wider range of expression. "Light, we're pack mates, aren't we? You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." Lightning had crossed her arms and put on the most stoic look she could muster, before she took a very deep breath, attempting to relax. "Pack mates..?" She remembered sitting down as well, even when the water soaked right through her clothes. "Like a pack of wolves?"

"Exactly." Fang spoke with a sense of bravado that only a young teenage could know, and she slowly held out one of her hands, just to show Lightning that her claws were quite gentle too, no matter how massive they were. "Back when I was little, my mum and dad called us a pack, and that's what we were." She smiled again, and it widened even further when Lightning truly began to relax. "And a pack looks out for each other... They keep each other safe."

Lightning's memory almost seemed to swirl with those passing moments, when Fang had spoken so much about her previous family, telling her about all of those days up in the mountains, but Lightning had scarcely even slept before she'd woken up to find Fang missing. And in that blur, in a haze of time beneath the pale light of the moon, she remembered being lifted up into those arms, and then carried away from the edge of the lake.

"You're safe with me." Fang had whispered her words into the soft summer air, gently holding Lightning against her chest. "You, Serah, Vanille... Nothing's gonna hurt you guys on my watch, not if I can help it." She sniffed at the hazy scents of the grasslands, and a gentle hum began to rumble in her chest. "They were gonna hurt Vanille, you know... They had her all locked up, but I broke a way out of there for her."

Even in the midst of exhaustion, Lightning remembered thinking that those lithe, muscular arms would have had little trouble with tearing apart any barriers.

"She had that fear scent, too." Fang spoke in a low murmur. "But then, after we got away, I told her she didn't have to go with me, not if she didn't want to... But she followed after me until she felt too tired to walk, then I carried her like this." That smile had been so warm, like the sun had strayed right back out into the sky, despite the darkness of the night. "That's what a pack is, isn't is? We help each other, no matter what."

A pack, Lightning thought, as she slowly drifted back into the present, where Fang was standing so much smaller than she had been within that memory, but still at more height than Lightning herself. A pack of wolves, not humans, no matter if it meant the same as a family; she was not a wolf, not a beast without the societal rights of humanity, not a creature to be slain for her mere nature, shot down within the streets like she was worth less than utter refuse. The sting of a bullet spoke louder than any cry of protest, silencing the entire world around it, killing her own sense of injustice until it resembled something far smaller, something dark and shriveled, something more like fear. Pride was all well and good, but even the staunchest sense of dignity might see her family killed, and Lightning knew that she could suffer more than a few blows to her own ego just to keep them safe, even if Fang seemed to disagree.

Fang's eyes seemed to speak in place of her voice, gleaming there in the wild moonlight. _You know what I'll do... If they find us, it'll be just like it used to be._ No matter how many times she gently nuzzled at Lightning's face, the look in her eyes spoke of the true nature of a pack, the ruthlessness that Fang always gained whenever a threat made itself known.

Flesh would break and rend apart, bones would shatter down beneath her teeth, and it was the only time that Lightning knew Fang to be cruel, though it was given as if on some base level of karmic justice. If Vanille was hurt, for example, perhaps shot in the arm, Fang simply would not rest until the one who had squeezed the trigger was writhing beneath the pain of a severed limb, the object of which was quickly crushed between those massive jaws.

Lightning remembered it as if it was happening right there before her, the words spoken between dark globs of blood and shredded flesh, low and deep and utterly ruthless.

" _Missed, didn't you? Aimed right between her eyes, but you're a real crap shot, aren't you? You like shooting at kids, huh?!"_ Fang's voice had been so feverish and rough, the bark of a rabid animal, and it almost seemed to shake the world around her down to its very roots. _"Think you can hurt her, just like that?!"_ She'd hissed above the sound of a snapping bone, rending away the other arm with the sheer strength of her own limbs. _"You don't hurt kids! You don't... You don't hurt 'em, and you sure as hell don't get to shoot her without answering to me!"_

Lightning remembered that final, echoing sound, the bitter crunch of a snapped knee, and then another, before Fang slowly tipped her head back to release such a long, baying howl, as if to challenge any others who might dare pursue them further. That darkness in her eyes, so wide and wild and utterly _drunk_ upon the rush of vengeful blood, the instincts that far ran deeper than any other emotion she had ever known, the sheer protectiveness of a pack.

 _We aren't a pack,_ Lightning had thought to herself in that moment, _not if that's what a pack is..._ But as they'd retreated, running off to find Serah and Vanille again, that very same thought ground to a complete and absolute halt.

"Shh." Fang had silenced those tears with a soft, nuzzling touch to Vanille's forehead, just as tender as the greenest leaf in springtime. "C'mere, let me look..." She'd leaned both of them back against a fallen tree, holding Vanille close against her chest, while her words sounded so much softer than anything Lightning had ever heard from her before. "Went right through your arm, did it? Least we won't have to pull the bullet out..."

Lightning had already started to rummage through one of their supply bags, careful not to poke at anything delicate with her own claws, and the look on Fang's face when she carried over some bandages and a canteen full of water... How could one who had just held such an all-encompassing darkness, the very cruelest depths of nature, how could there be such _love_ in her eyes? How could she look at Lightning with all the gentleness in the world and still have had the capacity to leave a fellow human dying out there in the woods, crippled and broken from every limb? And that was when she realized, as she knelt down beside Fang to help tend to Vanille's wounds, she realized what a pack truly was.

Fang didn't care. And she certainly didn't care about not caring. She only ever cared for those who she truly loved, damn all the rest, for she'd grown up in a place where her family was the only thing that truly mattered in the world. And those who sought to harm the ones she loved... They were left to the mercy of a savage beast, torn apart by that veritable force of nature, the very force of _love_ , for the natural opposite of such love was in fact, _hate_ , and Fang's eyes simply burned with it whenever any of her loved ones were harmed.

It had been in that distant moment when Lightning realized it was foolish to have ever been afraid of Fang, for a lycan was never truly a threat to one of its own pack. That loyalty, only that amount of strength could ever bring on such utter cruelty, fueled on by the fire in Fang's heart, the same love that peered right back at her beneath the pale, glowing moonlight, between kindred spirits in the dark. Deadly, like a knife, but that very same blade stood against their enemies and fought to keep them alive, and when it was sheathed away once more, she was more gentle than Lightning once imagined possible.

 _We're not a pack,_ Lightning thought, _you're my family, and I love you, but we're not wolves... They kill wolves._ She realized that Fang had started licking the blood away from her muzzle again. _They kill wolves like us... They kill lycans without even thinking. We can't be wolves._

"Hey... Let me show you what I've made out here." Fang leaned in to nudge Lightning's cheek, almost akin to a chaste little kiss. "Follow me? It's not too far."

So Lightning followed, moving on throughout the forest, running as a wolf again, no matter how much her heart sang for her to be otherwise; there were some inner natures that could never be suppressed, and the call to race beneath the trees and travel as a pack was one of them. Fang led the way over the tall ridges and forested hills, between the hollow birch trees, devoid of their leaves for the rest of the frigid year. The sounds of water trickled on through the rustle of dry foliage, and Lightning's ears soon perked at the soft, burbling sounds.

"Nice little stream." Fang trotted down beside it, and she lowered her head to take a quick drink. "Tastes good, too... Not like puddles on asphalt."

Lightning walked over for a taste as well, and she almost sighed in contentment at how fresh the water tasted. The chill of it sent a wave of tingles all throughout her mouth and throat, and then deep into her stomach, helping to ease away the effort that it took to run so quickly through the forest.

"I've been thinking about what you said." Fang took one more drink from the dark, icy water, before she leaned back to sit upon the riverbed. "About not living in a shoebox forever."

Lightning kept drinking from the stream, but she turned her ears towards Fang to show her that she was still listening.

"We had a little house in the lowlands, back home." Fang peered up at the glow of the city sky, at those last few hints of fading starlight. "A cabin in the forest, you could say... You think there's anywhere like that we could find? Somewhere close enough for Serah to work with whatever career she chooses, but just rural enough to keep a sharp lookout on any unwanted visitors."

Lightning slowly lifted her head away from the surface of the river, and she leaned back, sitting right beside the water's edge. "You've given up on Gran Pulse?"

Fang closed her eyes. She slowly exhaled, and her breath misted into the frigid air. "The situation's a whole lot different than I thought it'd be... So I'm trying my best to compromise." She opened her eyes when something suddenly touched her cheek, but she relaxed when she realized that it was only Lightning's nose. "I don't want to drag either of you away from where you want be, Light."

"Thank you." Lightning sat down again, leaning in against Fang, savoring the warmth of her thick, fluffy fur. "That means a lot."

Fang snuffled softly, before she began to hum in the back of her throat. "You know, if I'd said anything different, you'd be well within your rights to dump me."

Lightning rolled her eyes again. "You'd want me to dump you for trying to bring us somewhere safe?"

"No, for trying to convince you into something you're not sure about." Fang peered down at the whispering stream, and she leaned in to rest against Lightning as well. "I already said what I had to say about it, and the answer was still no... There's a point where it'd start to feel like I was pressuring you." She yawned quietly, and she closed her eyes halfway. "You're got as much good judgment as I have, Light, even if you can be more than a little bit stubborn."

Lightning gently nipped one of Fang's ears. "And hasn't my stubborn streak saved us more than once?"

Fang laughed under her breath, and she leaned back out of Lightning's reach. "It has... There's no one else I'd rather have protecting us." She rose up to her feet, standing so tall again, and the way her fur drifted in the chilly wind made something inside Lightning's heart twinge, a feeling from what felt like so very long ago. "I remember how I used to think about you... How we'd sneak off together like this."

"Only when it felt safe." Lightning looked down at their pawprints in the dirt, so much larger than they had once been. "Just a bunch of dumb puppies..."

Fang slowly wagged her tail, and she took another step along the riverbank. "Dumb puppies who had to grow up way too quick." She waited for Lightning to follow her, before she wandered even further across the path of silt and stone. "I _like_ being like this again... Rolling around in the leaves, playing with you just like we used to." Fang's tail wagged a bit faster than before. "Making up for lost time, I guess."

"We'll have time." Lightning looked down at her paws, and she wondered why her words felt so much more like an ending than anything else; for such a small scope upon the full width of a lifespan, she already felt old beyond her years, as if every step she took was increasingly, achingly slow. "I'm just... I've been very tired, Fang."

"Hard work, no play." Fang paused to nudge Lightning's cheek again. "We'll liven you up, don't you worry... You just need to start resting it off."

"How long will that take?" After a moment of silence, Lightning sniffed at the air, and she felt as if the inside of her nose was already frosting up from the cold. "I'll ask about that transfer on Monday, maybe I can get more downtime with it."

"Sounds good to me." Fang's ears perked up, and she lifted her nose to the wind. "We're nearly there."

"Thank you, Fang." Lightning followed on along the riverbank, walking against the frigid earth, between the leaves that crackled with an early frost, hardened by the chill. "You know how it is whenever you have to keep up with something like this... When you have to be invincible."

"You don't have to be." Fang spoke in just a whisper. "You don't have to push yourself so much... You said we've got a good amount saved up, right?"

"Emergency savings, mostly." Lightning stopped at the sudden sight of a small blotch of darkness in the earth, within the tall embankment that rose up beside the riverbed. "We'll have enough for a really nice Yuletide, but then we'll have to be more strict on ourselves after that."

Fang lowered her head down without hesitation, and she suddenly disappeared into the gap like a mere shadow, without much more than a sound. Lightning waited there, gazing down into the darkness, and a long moment passed before she caught sight of those bright golden eyes again, peering back at her from within.

"Just a few old scents." Fang whispered her words from the depths of the tunnel. "Squirrels, maybe a badger, but they haven't done anything to it." She walked up a bit higher, gazing back at Lightning. "Come on in, then... I'll show you."

Lightning took a very slow, wary step into the tunnel, yet she nearly felt a glimmer of shock at how solid the ground felt beneath her paws, almost like dry, solid clay, though it was still rather soft from the dampness of the earth.

"I dug a separate one off to the side, here..." Fang hummed as she made her way down the steady incline, moving deeper and deeper beneath the earth. "Good to have a different way out in case the worst happens."

Lightning peered around in the dark, and she could indeed see the path that Fang spoke of, but she also glimpsed a few shorter tunnels, places that opened up into the earth like little underground rooms. "I always knew you were a good digger, but _this_..." She slowly approached one of the deeper alcoves, and she ducked inside to see if it was really as roomy as it looked. "How long have you been working on this?"

"You know I don't keep track of time." Fang entered the little room as well, and she moved to lay down against the flat, smooth surface of the ground. "But I started this in the early autumn, and now it's early winter... So, a while." She yawned almost silently, before she settled her head down against the claylike dirt. "It's always real nice down here... Not too cold, not too hot."

"We could definitely store canned food in a place like this." Lightning sniffed at the air, inhaling the rich, earthy scents of the burrow. "Maybe even a locked trunk with preserved food, medical supplies..."

Fang yawned again. "We can work on that after tomorrow." She always made it a rule for both of them to relax on Saturdays, no matter how many times Lightning inevitably found something that needed to be done. "Come rest for a minute, Light... You worked real hard today."

Lightning slowly padded over to settle down beside Fang, resting her chin against one of those strong front limbs, though it was nowhere near as powerful as an arm of her full lycan form.

"And yeah, I think we should have a word with that boss of ours about that transfer..." Fang moved to set her head down against Lightning's neck, savoring the warmth of her thick winter fur. "You know, I could start trying to earn us a little extra cash with whatever I can catch on the weekends; I've already got a decent stockpile going."

"The pelts?" Lightning listened to the way that her own voice echoed so softly against the walls of the burrow. "I'd rather keep the meat for us, it keeps the grocery costs down."

"Yeah, we'll keep that." Fang hummed into the darkness. "But it might be less than inconspicuous to try and sell off a whole bunch of wild furs without a hunting permit... Maybe we could make something out of them first?"

"I'm sure you can find somewhere that won't mind whoever they buy it from." Lightning thought back to a certain marten pelt that Fang had once sold 'under the table', fetching a far better price than what she would have gotten from any local tannery. "Be creative."

Fang snorted quietly, before she flicked both of her ears back and forth. "Sure, if you want me to get nabbed by an undercover cop for illegal poaching." She spoke with a slight chuckle to her tone. " _Poaching_ , like they'd have any proof that I was the one who killed it... 'No sir, my cousin down on the farm shot these little buggers for nibbling at his cabbages just last Tuesday; I'm only trying to pawn them off for him... Yes sir, we're just good old country folk just trying to scrape by out here, didn't mean to break any laws at all; yes, he's still trying to grow cabbages in the winter, sir, never said he was the sharpest tool in the shed'."

Lightning snorted to conceal a quiet laugh. "I doubt the police force is that worried about poaching these days."

Fang went very still for a moment, for the memories of so many countless news programs of the 'imminent' lycan threat were all quite fresh on her mind, not to mention the uprising of a certain alternative faction... A group she didn't have the slightest clue what to think of.

"It'll all settle back down before long." Lightning moved to nuzzle her cheek against Fang's lower throat. "It was probably just an accident, some stray animal that got too aggressive with one of us-"

"What do think about that one bunch of weirdos?" Fang tried not to make her voice sound sly, but she held more than a slight bit of curiosity towards such strange people. "...What does the damn acronym stand for again?"

"The CLR." Lightning moved to rest her chin against the ground between Fang's front limbs. "'Citizens for Lycan Rights'? Something like that... If they really think they're going to keep their identities secret for long like that, then they have a whole other thing coming to them."

Fang slowly shook her head. "I don't think they're lycans, at least not all of them... Who'd be that suicidal?"

"People without much left to lose? Bored teenagers rallying for a lost cause?" Lightning thought back to the television footage, the news programs that showed the assembled marches, those who stood up in protest against the proposal of a mandatory, city-wide blood test, and she remembered seeing the clash between those who were actually standing up for lycanthropes and those who simply wanted to enforce their right not to be tested. "I just hope it's a flash in the pan sort of thing... They'll lose interest once they realize nobody else cares."

"Yeah, but what about that one fancy guy on the news?" Fang stretched her paws out against the floor of the burrow. "Politician, looked like he might actually have a say in the bunch."

Lightning stretched her paws as well. "I don't know, Fang, it's a whole bunch of politics..."

"I know." Fang slowly rolled over to rest on her side, and she leaned in to press her nose against Lightning's forehead. " It just seems like it could be important."

"Only if it gains any traction." Lightning closed her eyes, before she stretched out each of her legs, still feeling the deep aches from her human form. "I've seen these people online, you know... They get into fights almost everywhere you look." She yawned as well, before she tried to shake out the drowsy feeling from herself. "We should get back home before midnight."

"It's not nearly that late." Fang reached out with one of her front limbs to try and pat Lightning's shoulder, which was more than a bit difficult with only a paw and a limb meant for walking and running, not touching. "We could nap a while if you wanted."

Lightning opened her eyes to peer at the smooth surface of the ground, and she sniffed at the scents of the dusty earth. "This place could use some dry leaves or blankets..."

Fang's gaze spoke of a smile. "I'll fix it up later, get it in better living condition."

"The only real problem is that we're surrounded on all sides by the city." Lightning rolled over to rest on her back, stretching out her limbs again with a soft sigh of exhaustion. "We can't exactly 'live' here in a real emergency, at least not for long."

"Yeah, it's more of a backup site, not a safe-house." Fang closed her eyes with a soft sigh of her own. "I'm glad you understand this, Light."

Lightning kept silent for a brief while, though the moment almost felt like a small eternity. "What wouldn't I understand?"

"That even the safest plan can go wrong? That we need backup in any situation..." Fang began to doze off within the darkness, laying on her side, though she opened her eyes again when she felt a soft touch upon her cheek. "I love you, you know that?"

Lightning merely waited there in the form of a human, bare of skin, and though she seemed rather prickled with the chill of winter, her face held only a sense of practiced calm. "I know... I'm glad you came back for us."

Fang slowly sat up again. "You've gotta feel freezing like this..." She nudged at Lightning's cheek with her snout. "Change back."

Lightning shook her head. "It's fine."

"It's way too cold down here for a human." Fang kept nudging at Lightning's face, speaking in that low, lupine tone. "Especially a naked one."

"You've seen me like this a thousand times." Lightning crossed her arms against her chest, though she did shiver at least once from the chilly air. "I just want to be human right now."

"Light..." Fang sighed, and she pressed her forehead against one of Lightning's shoulders. "Tell me why?"

"Because we're born as humans, we live as humans-" Lightning suddenly smiled as she twined her fingers against the dark fur of Fang's neck, holding it just tight enough not to pinch. "And I want to be human when I tell you that I love you."

Fang exhaled heavily, before she leaned in even further, as if to savor the gentle feeling on her neck. "We can be both, Light." She closed her eyes when Lightning stroked her hands through that long fur, massaging it with each fingertip. "We can be both..."

"Jack of all trades, master of none?" Lightning closed her eyes as well, and she hugged her arms around Fang's fluffy neck. "Is it really so wrong to want this..?"

"You don't _have_ to choose." Fang felt her jaw tighten and clench, grinding her teeth as she spoke. "You're _both_ , Light... It's like trying to pick between your heart and your lungs, you just can't live without both of them." She leaned back, standing so tall again, and she looked Lightning straight in the eye, deep into that soft blue hue, almost lost of the sharpness it once held. "What are you so afraid of?"

Lightning still kept herself steadfast, but her voice was truly a blunted edge. "...That I'll slip."

"Slip..." Fang slowly sat back down. "You haven't slipped since you caught that scent in the apartment."

"And when I woke up the other night... And when you first got here." Lightning stared in the general direction her hands, almost as if she expected a set of claws to appear there in the utter darkness. "It was like everything all rushed back at once... The fighting, the running." She reached out into the shadows, rather blind without her wild eyes, yet she soon slowly brushed her palm against Fang's cheek. "They'll try to take our blood soon, won't they?"

"No... No, _screw_ that." Fang spoke in a low snarl, though she still nuzzled at Lightning's hand. "I'll kick them all down before they can even knock on the door." Her eyes glinted within the darkness, so dark and feral once more. "Anyone tries to prick her again, they're getting pricked instead."

Lightning almost sighed at the memory of that fateful moment in Euride. "She didn't even flinch."

"Yeah, no one else can hold themselves together like Vanille." Fang opened her mouth again in a wide, daring smile. "Except maybe you... Serah's gotten good at not panicking, but she does get a little jittery whenever you aren't there." She moved to nudge Lightning's wrist with her nose. "Listen, even if the worst happens... We'll make it through, just like we did before."

Lightning thought back to those long hours of hiding, of waiting there beneath the sounds that made the ground shake all around them, when it felt as if the very world was rising up to try and snuff them out. Her breath almost quickened at the memory, for any opportunity to run had come at a cost; could they all make it through the din of mortar fire and whistling bullets? So many others had fallen when they tried to escape, for the soldiers had practically cornered all of those who'd tried to run away from the blood tests, no matter if they were human or not. And Serah... Serah's eyes had been hidden there behind those clawed, trembling hands, but when Lightning coaxed them away, it almost looked as if they were empty, so utterly blank.

"...I won't make her do it again." Lightning scarcely even realized that she was shivering within the chill. "They won't even try to test anyone unless an actual attack occurs; there's already a precedent against it."

"Light." Fang lifted one of her paws up to touch Lightning's nearest shoulder. "You're gonna freeze to death like this."

Lightning exhaled, murmuring with just a slight shiver to her breath. "Right." She closed her eyes to focus upon the beast she had been before, a wolf of pale white fur, more than warm enough to keep the even harshest chills away. "We should get back home before it gets late."

"We've earned some more time out here." Fang still felt the aches in her limbs, but her tail began to wag back and forth when Lightning settled back down to all fours, standing there as a wolf again. "The night's still young... And I think you deserve a little more freedom."

"Freedom?" Lightning turned to look back at the wide tunnel beside their little alcove, and she slowly began to approach it, before she sniffed at the other room near the opposite track of the burrow. "It's not like I'm enslaved to the apartment."

"Yeah, but it's still good to get out of the shoebox for a while." Fang shook out the dust from her fur, and she wandered off into the main tunnel as well. "We've got a whole day tomorrow to do whatever we want to do... Why not start a little early?"

Lightning's nose twitched at the faint scent of a small animal, likely a squirrel that had recently wandered into the tunnel out of curiosity. "What do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want to do." Fang sat down within the main track of the burrow, watching the way that Lightning examined the largest room; since changing forms, Lightning didn't carry their shared scents anymore, and the mere thought of it almost began to tug at Fang's heart, nagging in sequence with the quiet little voice in the back of her head, a whisper that spoke of something that almost sounded insecure. "We could just stay out here in the woods, or..."

Lightning looked up from the floor of the burrow. "Or..?"

Fang kept silent for a brief moment, trying to put her own concerns to rest. "We could go do something else."

Another long silence passed between them, until a voice spoke just as softly as the cold draft of air from up above. "Fang?" Lightning's nostrils twitched at the unusual scent of apprehension, and she slowly padded over to nudge her nose against Fang's cheek. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just... I'm not all bravado, you know?" Fang closed her eyes when Lightning pressed their cheeks together, resting side by side. "No one really knows if everything they're doing is the right thing."

Lightning sat down beside her, and she moved to rub her cheek against the back of Fang's neck, leaving her own scent there to comfort her.

"It was all so much easier before." Fang listened to the sounds of Lightning's movements, the rustle of that coarse overcoat mixing in with the softer fur beneath, almost like another whisper in her ears. "Just tell me if you'd rather go home, okay?"

"No." Lightning paused for a moment, before she moved to rub their cheeks together again. "You're right, the night's still young... We should go do something."

"Okay." Fang opened her eyes, and when she felt Lightning nosing at her muzzle, she began to chuckle under her breath. "You get so damn cuddly sometimes..."

Lightning nipped at Fang's chin, before she leaned away. "You just smelled sad." She sniffed at the air, and a slight shiver of contentment rolled right down her spine; she truly would be lying if she said that she didn't savor having Fang's scent upon her, especially because of the fact that it wasn't an actual wolf behavior. Lycans, in so many ways, they took the tools that they had been given and expanded upon them, creating the groundwork of their very own culture, building upon the etiquette that had been passed down over each and every passing generation, changing and adapting it to the world that stood around them. Their humanity seeped into every action, from a smile to a nudge on the shoulder, even to the cheery wagging of tails, reminiscent of brightened eyes and the sweet sound of laughter, sapient instincts all mixing in with the very mindset of a wolf.

And even through the darkness, Fang could see those bright yellow eyes, the waving tail, the paws that gripped the earth beneath them. They both stood there without speaking, but the look that slowly flickered out between them, it told Fang of the gentler side that Lightning held, the point of view that came from watching over her family for so many years, warming her heart into a sense of greater compassion.

"Do I make you happy?" Fang looked back into those watchful eyes, the golden shade of a far wilder world. "It's what I want... I want you to be happy because of me."

"I think you already know the answer to that." Lightning spoke in just a murmur, though it echoed quite clearly against the smooth walls of the burrow. "Where should we go tonight?" She pressed their noses together again. "What should we do?"

Fang closed her eyes, and she slowly opened her mouth into a smile. "Oh, I'm sure we can think of something..."

* * *

Long whiskers twitched in the darkness, sensing the lofty walls that stood beside the front door, beneath a rather wide window. Bright, inquisitive eyes peered up at the glass, but the tiny creature made no attempt to scale the height it would take to get up there.

At least there were other things to play with. His paws pattered against the floor as he darted out into the darkness, searching for the feathery toy that the stranger had once given him. The stranger, he remembered, had somehow brought him so very far away from the cold place outside, carrying him into a warm world of big wooden objects and tall things that stood almost everywhere he looked. One of those objects had felt rather nice beneath his claws, but the stranger gently scolded him for scratching at it.

The little kitten paused at the memory of such a sound, so soft, and yet so stern. The stranger always made those strange varying noises, just like a human would... But why did his scent also smell like some of those mean, mangy creatures that'd always lurked around the outside place? A kitten knew very few words when it came to the things he was unfamiliar with, and those tall, lanky beasts that had snarled and chased his own mother away just for scraps of abandoned food, his heart nearly lurched at the memory of them. But they were _definitely_ gone now, he assured himself, and the stranger never growled or snapped at him, he only scratched right behind the little kitten's ears and gave him bowls of warm food, and there wasn't even the slightest hint of any other cats inside the house.

He purred, though it was much more of a squeaky sound than he might have liked. The stranger would surely be back soon; he always came home around that time of night, and then the kitten could eat another warm meal and then ask for the stranger to move the feather toy back and forth again, for no matter how tired he seemed, he never denied the chance to play.

The tiny house stood among so many others of the same kind. The kitten could see them whenever he climbed up along the arm of one of the chairs; they were thin wooden houses with slanted roofs, and he often saw other animals outside, even a few wandering cats. He saw humans too, but for some reason, the stranger never let anyone else inside, though his clothes often smelled of other people whenever he came back home.

The kitten batted at the feather toy one last time, before he darted away to leap up against the big armchair near the window, perching himself as close to the windowsill as he could. It was pitch black already, and the first few hints of frost were spreading silently against the glass, while dark clouds loomed so far up above, illuminated by the lights of the city.

He mewed softly, before he lifted his paw to tap at the foggy window. Would it rain during the night? He hoped that the stranger wouldn't get caught out there in the cold... And it had become so _very_ cold over the past few weeks that they'd lived together.

Headlights glimmered there in the darkness of the street, and the little kitten watched as a car passed by the front driveway. It was likely a neighbor, for he could see where the road ended near a few of the other houses. He watched the vehicle for a while, gazing at the way that it slowly parked beside a larger house, where another human soon moved out from the doorway. There were two of them, the one from the car and the woman from the door, and the kitten twitched his whiskers when they moved to hug each other. Did his own stranger do that with anyone? Sometimes the kitten would crawl up into one of chairs with him to get his ears scratched, and then the stranger would hold him very close, but it seemed quite different between two humans.

He waited there, watching how they both disappeared into their own house, before the little kitten curled up against the arm of the chair. The window had grown even foggier, and the sheer stillness in the air made his whiskers tingle. Would his own stranger be back soon? Would he walk around the house and chase all of the silence away?

It was only when another set of headlights began to glow in the distance, when that first sudden tap of rainfall echoed against the windowpane, only then did the little kitten stand up to hop back down from the armchair, racing right over to paw at the front door. His tail flicked back and forth, and he stood up on his tiptoes to poke his nose though the mail slot, where he caught a rather crisp breath of the damp, rainy air, before he heard the sound of a car door being pushed shut.

Footsteps echoed against the pavement, before the lock on the door rumbled with a key, and the little kitten took a few steps back from the door mat.

"Hey, buddy..." The stranger soon made his way past the door, stepping on inside from the rain, and he took a brief moment to kneel down and stroke either side of the kitten's face. "Late night, huh? Had a whole lot of work to finish up before the weekend..." He yawned quietly, ignoring the way that the kitten tried to climb up into his arms. "You've gotta be pretty hungry by now."

The kitten mewed softly when the stranger stood up again to hang that big jacket on the coat rack, leaving only his work shirt and oil-stained pants, along with the belt that always carried the pale blue scarf.

"Serah kept texting me today, asking me why I wasn't in class..." He ran a rather weary hand through his hair, before he moved to turn the hallway lights on, wandering off towards the kitchen. "All like, 'Snow, this is one of the only classes we take together, are you feeling sick today, or just working?' ...Hard to tell her I had to be there in the shop, you know?"

Snow, that was what he always called himself. The kitten had no earthly idea what 'snow' was, but it didn't trouble him very much. What _did_ trouble him was the grumbly little growling sound inside his own stomach, and he mewed again to let Snow know just how late it really was.

"Right, right." Snow strolled off into the kitchen to retrieve a small can from one of the cupboards, before he moved open it up and pour the contents out into a plastic bowl. "You can eat your dinner while I cook mine, deal?"

The kitten waited with tensed, baited breaths as Snow pushed the bowl into the device that always lit up with soft lights and made the food slowly spin around. It was easy to ignore the slight clatter of kettles and pans, for Snow often lost track of the right dish for certain meals, though he soon filled up a big pot with water from the sink, before a slight flicker of flame hissed from atop the stove.

"And you, sir..." Snow reached for a rectangular box and a big jar of something from inside the cupboards. "I called the vet again for you, and I'm sorry to say it, but you won't be having any kittens of your own in your future."

 _Kittens?_ The kitten himself knew what the word meant; Snow often called him that. But why would there ever be any more cats in the world, anyway? Their house was far too small.

"You probably aren't missing much." Snow sighed quietly, before he reached over to retrieve the heated bowl of cat food. "You know, I... I used to think about what it'd be like having kids of my own someday, but now I just don't know." He slowly knelt down to place the small bowl near the corner of the kitchen, beside a small table with only a single chair. "You're the only one besides Serah who I can even talk to about lycans."

The kitten twitched his whiskers as he hurried over to lap up the soft, warm food, and he flicked his tail back and forth when he felt Snow's fingertips petting behind his ears.

"But her family, _wow_..." A wide smile crossed Snow's face. "I'm supposed to teach her some stuff next weekend, and we're all going out this Sunday." He slowly stroked the kitten's neck, before he moved away to stand back up again. "And you wouldn't believe how cool Fang is; I swear, she and Lightning have this psychic link or something, lycan stuff, maybe... Like they knew exactly what the other one was thinking all through dinner."

The kitten listened rather closely to Snow's tone of voice, and he nearly purred at the way it sounded. So many nights were spent in silence, but whenever Snow was excited about something, it made the whole room seem so much brighter than before.

"But honestly, I'm kinda surprised Lightning didn't try to chase me off." Snow smirked as he opened up the refrigerator door, removing a package of something that smelled quite richly of spices. "Serah says that the whole aggression thing really only applies to strangers... Sometimes different families get in fights over territory; it's supposed to be a lot safer to live somewhere with less lycans." He soon started to chop up a bit of the sausage meat with a rather sharp knife, though he was careful to cut it very precisely. "Glad Gapra is pretty big, eh?"

The kitten kept on eating his own meal, though he listened to each and every word that Snow spoke.

"I tried my best to behave, you know." Snow watched the surface of the water out of the corner of his gaze, waiting for the first few boiling bubbles. "If it was just a dinner with the guys, it'd be easy... Serah said Lightning's never too happy about meeting strangers, so I had to be pretty careful about what I said."

The rain kept on pattering against the windows, tiny flecks of frosted sleet, but each droplet melted away before it could even start to solidify.

"You're a good listener, you know that?" Snow knelt down to offer the kitten a small tidbit of the sliced sausage meat. "Never thought I'd get a pet of my own... Guess the best things in life are unexpected, right?" He stroked the kitten behind the ears again, before he stood back up to take a much smaller pot out of the cupboard. "Serah's been asking about you, too; we might just have to smuggle you back into class one day."

The kitten closed his eyes for a while, and he listened to the sounds of the kitchen and to the rain that pattered on outside. Snow kept talking as the food cooked over the fire, mostly things that the kitten couldn't understand, but when the boiling water finally gave way to the scent of pasta and tomato sauce, and when Snow sat down with a plate of his own dinner, the kitten wandered over to gently paw at one of his ankles.

"Hm?" Snow looked down over the edge of the table. "You've already had your dinner, buddy."

The kitten peered up at him with such soft dewy eyes, still pawing at the cuff of his pant leg.

"You want to sit here with me?" Snow smiled, and he reached down to pick up the little kitten into one of his hands, before he placed him down against his lap. "Right, just don't climb up on the table."

The kitten purred again, and he slowly curled against himself, listening to the soft sounds of the rain.

"Good thing that other cat hissed at you, isn't it?" Snow used a fork to mix a bit of pasta around on his plate. "You're quiet enough that I wouldn't have even noticed you... So many cats out there, the scents all blend together." He reached down to stroke the kitten's ears as he stirred the pasta around. "You've got that little scar on your nose, still."

The kitten sighed in contentment.

"But I still can't think of the right name..." Snow sighed as well, but he paused when his phone suddenly buzzed from inside his pocket. "Let's just hope Serah thinks of something soon."

* * *

Raindrops pattered against the roof of the apartment, but Serah stood steadfast in the hallway, crossing her arms against her chest. "Vanille..."

"Come on, it'll only take a moment!" Vanille tried not to skip back over to a certain doorway, one that led to none other than Lightning's room, or more specifically, her computer. "I already signed it for Light and Fang, and me, of course, that just leaves you!"

"Vanille." Serah sighed, before she slowly began to follow after her. "Petitions don't really _do_ anything, not unless the person getting petitioned actually cares enough to listen."

"Hey, don't be a spoilsport." Vanille smiled as she sat down at the computer chair. "I'm telling you, this is the real deal! They've got a website and everything..."

Serah felt a slight prickle run down her spine at the sight of so many digital photographs, scenes of huge protests and rather violent shouting matches. "I don't know about this, Vanille..."

"They're going to give these signatures to the mayor." Vanille rolled the desk chair off to the side, gesturing for Serah to approach the computer screen. "No more blood tests! It's really against the law, anyway, when you get right down to it."

Serah drew in a very deep breath, trying her best to keep herself standing steady. "Vanille... They can bend the law when _we're_ involved." She spoke in just a whisper, and she couldn't help but glance at the window to make sure nobody else was there, no matter if they were on the second floor. "We can't do anything to put ourselves in danger."

Vanille nodded. "That's why I used made-up names!" She gestured at the keyboard. "It still counts, and it's not like I put in more than three... And Lightning said she has that proxy thing, so nobody will ever know where they came from."

Serah fought the urge to cover up her face in her hands. " _Fake_ names..?"

"It's not fake, just made-up!" Vanille tried her best to put on a pout. "We're people, aren't we? Who cares if the names are different?"

Serah took one last look at the window, before she slowly walked over to quickly type in the first generic name she could think of.

Vanille beamed at her. "See? Not so hard at all!"

"It's still dishonest..." Serah fought back another sigh, before she walked away to sit against the edge of Lightning's bed. "Did you ask Fang and Light before you signed for them?"

Vanille actually began to look a little more sheepish than before, yet she merely rolled her chair back over to submit the name into the petition list.

"Promise me that you'll ask next time." Serah stared at the shelves on the walls, gazing at all of Lightning's things, the little trinkets that she had collected over the years. "It's important."

"Okay." Vanille soon swiveled the chair back around to face the bed. "But they'd want to sign something to stop the blood testing, right?"

"I guess they would." Serah idly played with a bit of loose string on the hem of her shirt. "Fang looked pretty angry at the news."

Vanille tried not to frown. "She gets kinda scary whenever she remembers it... Not scary to me, just..."

"I know what you mean." Serah forced herself to put on a brave face. "You can always tell Light's really concerned whenever she tries to keep herself busy, just to stop pacing around." Serah found her thoughts drifting back to that day so long ago, to the sudden sound of shock, to the way Fang's arm had simply lurched out at the sight of distant needles, where Vanille had seemed far too stunned to argue against being led towards a testing pavilion. "It all happened so fast..."

Vanille looked down at the floor, and she slowly moved her arms to rest them against her lap, tightly holding one of her knees against her chest. "I told Fang when we made it out, I told her that she should've just let them take it... Then we could've tried to run while it was being tested."

"She didn't want you to have to do that." Serah looked over at where Fang's new scarf was folded rather neatly against one of the low cabinets. "They would've taken blood from all of us if she hadn't stopped it."

"I know." Vanille's voice seemed much smaller than it had been in years. "This time... We'll just run?"

Serah nodded. "If it happens, we'll run." Something buzzed in her pocket, and she quickly reached for her phone to read whatever message had arrived. "Oh, Light wants to know if we've had dinner already." Serah started to tap out a reply. "Wonder what they're doing tonight..."

"Something fun, I hope." Vanille smiled at the recent memory of how Fang had coaxed Lightning out from the apartment to spend the rest of their Friday evening outdoors. "I know Light doesn't mean to be a stick in the mud... She just needs a little help having a fun time."

"Yeah." Serah smiled at something on her phone, and a moment later, she looked back over at Vanille. "I won't tell her about the petition if you don't want me to."

"Oh... I'll tell them later." Vanille slowly swung her feet back and forth. "We need all the signatures we can get... Hey, what about Snow?"

Serah blinked in slight surprise. "What about him?"

Vanille suddenly grinned, before she turned the chair right back around to type something into the webpage.

"Vanille!" Serah hissed quietly as she stepped up from the bed, and she reached out to tug the chair away from the computer. "You promised."

Vanille tried to pout again. "I promised to tell Fang and Light!"

Serah dragged the chair even further away. "That counts for everyone..." She sat back down on the bed, keeping a firm grip on the back of the chair, even if Vanille could really just stand up to walk over towards the keyboard. "It's not that late, actually... I could ask him if he wouldn't mind."

"Texting?" Vanille leaned over to examine Serah's phone. "Oh, it doesn't even have buttons..."

"It's a touch screen." Serah held up the phone so that Vanille could see the way she tapped a message in. "Not to spoil any surprises, but I think you might be getting one of these for Yuletide."

Vanille thought back to the sets of house keys that Lightning had recently given to both herself and Fang, and the new bus passes that had arrived in the mail. She smiled brightly at the thought of it, for no matter how small the gestures were, it almost felt as if each little gift was a new piece of home. A _real_ home, she thought, all while watching the way that Serah sent a message off to Snow; had they all truly found a place to call their own? Lightning did occasionally speak of moving, one day... But did that really mean they belonged there any less?

"We'll just see if he answers tonight." Serah looked back over at the computer. "You know, this came with a few pre-installed games... Light says she hardly ever plays them, though, only when she can't sleep at night."

While the concept of a game would normally pique Vanille's immediate interest, she felt far too wrapped up in the notion of whether or not they could consider such a place their true home. In the past, in the long ago days of her own childhood, such hazy memories, Fang had always spoken of their chosen resting site as 'home', even if they would always have to leave it behind on a mere moment's notice. Vanille knew that her family always looked at her as the youngest, the little one that Fang had practically adopted from an uprooted life, but she knew just as well as the rest of them did that there was far more to that cheerful demeanor than what simply met the eye. She'd evaded the clutches of death all on her lonesome, after all, a mere three years old and already clever enough not to speak a single word to her captors. They didn't know what she really was, that she'd inherited the bestial blood from her parents, so she kept her tears locked away behind those wary, watchful eyes, only a wolf when she wished to be.

Imagine her surprise when a nearly full-grown lycanthrope suddenly tore back a wooden panel of the hut, revealing the one who'd later become her companion for so many years, even if Fang was only ten years old when they met. Those years, Vanille remembered, three long years of following after her new friend and learning about the wilderness, running about, jumping and playing, hunting for the tiniest mice that scuttled out along the forest floor, all while the sunlight dappled upon her bright orange fur through the verdant leaves.

"You're more of a fox than a wolf." Fang had once said it beneath a wide open sky, all while she watched how Vanille tried to chase down crickets in the grass. "That fur of yours... Did your parents have the same color?"

"Dunno." Vanille remembered being so much more focused on the elusive little insects than whatever Fang was asking. "Um... I think dad had dark gray fur." She leapt up in the air to try and snap her teeth down upon a fleeing cricket. "They weren't wolves very much, though."

Fang sniffed at the air, and she turned to look out at the horizon. "Well, what about your mum?" She always kept a careful watch in the evenings, when they could both still be snuck up upon by those who needed the daylight to see. "My mum had fur like the sky at night, pitch black, all speckled with bits of white on the ends."

Vanille paused to try and think of what such a pelt would look like. "I think mom had fur like mine." She watched one of the crickets as it paused to chirp upon the height of a tall grass blade, swaying gently in the wind. "They said she had to go away... But I smelled blood, Fang, I know what really happened!"

She still remembered that sudden shift in Fang's expression, for a full lycan could frown just as much as a human could. "...I'm sorry, kiddo."

Vanille shook her head fiercely. "I'll be okay... I have you!" She stood there in a much smaller form, one that couldn't smile very much, but it also couldn't frown; she knew that whenever she cried at night, that Fang almost definitely heard her, but she wasn't about to cry at such an hour, not in nearly full daylight. "We'll stay together, won't we?"

"Yeah, as long as you like." Fang had lifted up one of her arms, and that same smile returned when Vanille moved to cuddle up in the crook of her arm, resting her chin against one of those lithe, broad shoulders. "You're my little buddy now, so we'll stick together."

"I'm not that little!" Vanille tried to nip at one of Fang's ears, but they were a bit too far away for her to reach. "But what about you, Fang? Why aren't you with your mom and dad?"

Fang seemed to pause and think for a moment, perhaps to find the right words. "I wanted to see the rest of the world." She'd turned to face the east, gazing up at the high forests that rose far closer to the border between two countries, back towards where she had found Vanille in the first place. "Mum told me that I was old enough to live off of the land by myself... And they both wished me luck, even if it looked like they didn't really want me to go." Fang had hugged Vanille so tight, speaking against the soft orange fur on the back of her head. "But I just _needed_ to see what else was out there."

Vanille hadn't quite understood it at first, but at least she had Fang there with her, and she counted herself luckier than a cat with a whole nine lives for that. Though she could often be even more crafty than a cat... She almost giggled at the thought of it, all while she watched the way that Serah tried to start up one of the computer games. If there was anyone in their little family who acted more like a cat than a wolf, it was definitely Serah. How very shy she'd once been, hiding behind her big sister at every possible opportunity, at least until she began to warm up towards the pair of strangers they'd met. While Lightning's fur had always been a stark, unyielding white, even back then, Vanille remembered the way that Serah's coat had kept changing with each passing season, from bland, paler hues to a deeper shade of peach, at least until it finally settled upon a soft, creamier color, like pale lily flowers touched by the sun.

"Hey, Serah?" Vanille slowly spun in the rolling desk chair, for Serah had already brought out a folding chair from somewhere in the hallway for herself. "You think Fang and Light are gonna be like they are forever?"

Serah paused, and she turned to look back at Vanille. "...In what way?"

Vanille smiled softly. "Fang always looks like a puppy again whenever Lightning's there... Not that I've ever seen her as a puppy." She moved the chair back to face the desk once more. "We can't split up again, okay? I know it was the only way to make sure at least a few of us got out of there, and it wasn't any of our faults, but we've got to make sure we stay together now!" Vanille tried to look as serious as she possibly could. "I know everyone still thinks I'm the big crybaby, but after we all split apart, Fang was... She seemed so _sad_ , sometimes."

"You're not a crybaby." Serah reached out to pat one of Vanille's shoulders. "It's okay to be sensitive... And I hope they stay like this, too." She motioned for Vanille to roll the chair back beside the computer. "Light _listens_ to Fang, she's the only one who can really get through to her."

"I'm not sure if that's true..." Vanille found herself smiling again, truly, for she remembered the recent times when Serah would offhandedly suggest something, and then, far more often than not, Lightning herself would make doubly sure that it happened. "There's just something about sisters that doesn't happen between anyone else."

"I suppose so." Serah tried to start up one of the other computer games, before she looked down to see her phone buzzing against the desk. "Oh... Snow says it's no problem to sign it for him."

Vanille suddenly grinned, and she didn't even have to wrestle with Serah to type down a fake name into the petition.

* * *

"Steak and eggs, rare as you can make it." Fang didn't even have to look at the menu upon the table. "And a chocolate milkshake, too... Not quite cold enough to keep me away."

Lightning fought back a small smile, but she only spoke again after the waitress sauntered back towards the front counter. "How long has it been?"

Fang looked up from a small sip of ice water. "Hm?"

Lightning slowly folded her hands against the table, and she glanced around at all of the little oddities and curios tacked upon the walls of the luminous little diner, one which stood upon a ocean street with a full view of the distant sea. "How long has it been since we've had 'breakfast for dinner' in a place like this?"

"Oh..." Fang cracked a warm grin as she pushed the menu aside, clearing enough space for her to rest her forearms against the table. "Well, you know how I am with time."

Lightning bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling again; if there had ever been any doubt that Fang knew her better than anyone, it all faded away after they'd wandered up along the ocean boulevards, when the memories of stopping for meals in such similar places came rushing back like the sea itself. Though their clothes had grown quite speckled with rainwater, having been retrieved from within a fallen log near the edge of the forest, it seemed as if the chill of an early winter storm couldn't quite reach far enough to dampen any part of Fang's spirit.

"I just figured it'd be fun to do this again." Fang twirled a bit of a straw wrapper between her fingertips, folding it up into triangles, and then back again, slowly flattening it out with the nail of her thumb. "I know you're not much for crowds... Neither am I, so here we are."

It was indeed a sleepy little diner, though there was a bit more activity going on in near front of the restaurant, where Fang had requested they not be seated. The sound of a wide, sizzling griddle that held pancakes and breakfast meats filled the ambiance with a sense of docility, and the soft rumblings of a coffee machine kept up with the pace of low chatter and bustling plates.

"Nice and quiet back here." Fang leaned back against the booth, and she turned to peer out at the lights of the city, those that were reflected within the deep, dark seawater, though it was all rather speckled beneath the falling rain. "And I've been thinking... We haven't gone out to a place like this in weeks."

Lightning hid yet another smile behind a brief sip of water. "I thought you didn't keep track of time."

Fang smirked as well. " _Cheeky_ tonight, aren't you? Maybe so, but it's not like I'm oblivious about it; I do keep a mental checklist of these things." She moved to lean forward against the table again, and the sly look that crept into her eyes nearly sent a shiver down Lightning's spine. "Listen, Light, I know we're not the most normal folks out there..."

Lightning spared a quick glance towards the front of the diner, though they seemed to be well out of earshot from even the quietest table.

"And I know money's been a little tight, but I just wanted to-" Fang paused upon her next word, though she didn't look lost, merely hesitant. "People have dates with each other here in Cocoon, don't they? They go out and do fun stuff, go to cool places, right?"

Lightning gave her a rather slight nod. "Is that what this is?"

Fang actually did look a bit lost at the thought of that. "I think so... Yeah, if you'd like it to be." She took a moment to steady herself, strengthening her demeanor once more. "I know it's not fancy."

"I don't need fancy." Lightning glanced up when an electric blender suddenly rumbled from the kitchens, likely mixing up a certain pair of chocolate shakes. "This is... This feels like home." She looked back at Fang, into the depths of those keen, watchful eyes, and she felt only the gathering warmth in her heart. "Remember that little diner back in- Where was it, Bresha? I remember Vanille had never seen one before."

Fang smiled at the memory of that. "She could hardly even pick out what to order..."

"We must've been to more than a hundred of these." Lightning peered around at the walls again, and then at the tiny bottled ship that stood upon a shelf above their own table. "Remember how most of them would always give Serah and Vanille free desserts?"

"Well yeah, they were real good kids..." Fang stirred at her ice water with the end of a straw. "I'm sure it's a real relief to the waitstaff when little kids like that are that so polite."

Lightning felt a flicker of something rather cold run through her heart. "They had to be..." She slowly crossed her arms against the table, gazing down at the checkered designs that stood upon the glossy plastic surface. "Can you imagine it, if they'd drawn any attention to us? They really were good kids."

Fang glanced away for just a moment. "Still feels like they are."

"Serah's almost twenty." Lightning spoke it in just a whisper. "Twenty... I turned twenty before we moved into the apartment." She glanced up at the sight of a nearby waiter, one who was carrying over a full tray of food to a much larger table than theirs. "I was twenty out on the streets."

Fang reached out to place her hand against the center of the table, and a small, gentle smile crossed her lips when Lightning reached out as well. "You're not on the streets anymore... And neither is Serah."

"At first I just wanted to live like we used to, but in a place like this, it was... Degrading." Lightning slowly twined her fingertips with Fang's, brushing her thumb against the softness of her palm. "I couldn't work there at the harbor and find enough food at the same time, and neither could Serah, not with school."

Fang gently squeezed Lightning's hand. "But you still played your cards right, love."

"I can't know that, not yet." Lightning felt her throat tighten, but she just kept speaking as quietly as she could. "Maybe I'll never know for sure, but when you have to make a choice like that, you need to stand by it without ever second-guessing yourself... I put my cards in, no taking them back unless I have no other possible choice."

"I'd help you if it came to that." Fang looked back at her without wavering, without even the slightest hint of flippancy in her gaze. "I've still got your back just like I used to, Light, no matter how long it's been."

"Of course you do..." Lightning almost smiled at the sight of a few distant milkshakes, though she still only spoke in a murmur. "Why else would we be girlfriends?"


	11. Chapter 11

The rain kept drumming down, pattering against the winding streets and the rooftops up above. The lights of the city almost seemed to grow brighter and brighter with each passing minute, though it might have just been because of the gathering clouds.

"I've been thinking about a place for Sunday." Fang had about half of her chocolate milkshake left, but there was still no plate of food on the table before her; a slight twinge of hunger began to protest from her stomach, though she managed to ignore it in lieu of speaking further. "Those fields way out of town, you remember them? There's a whole elk herd roaming around out there, and doesn't look like anyone's studying them... At least from what I've seen."

"Well, if it's not a wildlife preserve, then they can't be radio collared without a special permit." Lightning almost frowned at the memory of what Fang since had told her, concerning an all too similar type of collar. "I know people go hunting in territory like that, but not usually so late in the season."

"Sounds perfect, then." Fang stirred at the bottom half of her milkshake with a straw. "Any brain freeze yet?"

Lightning rolled her eyes at that. "I'm good with the cold." She had her own chocolate shake before her, though she'd only taken a sip or two. "You must've been thirsty."

"Well, wandering all the way out here can do that to you..." Fang gave Lightning a soft smile. "In the rain, too." She was resting one of her hands against her chin, while she kept stirring at the shake with her other. "You think it'll start to look like winter soon? Not a single flake of snow yet."

Lightning looked out at the window, and she felt a certain sensation tingling in her spine, though it wasn't at all unpleasant. "It'll mean easier hunting." She spoke each word just under her breath, even though there was no one else sitting within earshot. "But I'll need to start turning the thermostat up at home... I've kept the heating bill down with those little space heaters."

Fang quirked an eyebrow at that. "Is the electric really cheaper than gas?"

"They're both electric." Lightning took a small sip of her shake. "Only the stove is gas, and I just don't want to run up the bill whenever we're not using a certain room... But I have a feeling it'll get cold enough to need it before long."

"Ah." Fang's nose suddenly twitched to sniff at the scent of food. "Think that's ours?"

Lightning nodded, for she could see one of waitresses carrying a tray with two plates towards them, opposite from where Fang was sitting.

"Smells amazing..." Fang smirked after she'd been given her plate, and she spared a single glance towards Lightning's meal. "Dunno why you'd pick waffles over something like steak."

Lightning shrugged. "It sounded good." She nodded at the waitress in thanks.

Fang took an immediate approach to the food on her plate, for hardly anything could hold her back whenever she was that hungry. Even though she made sure to eat just as politely as she could, the image of a ravenous wolf leaked out through the way that she swiftly sliced up more than half of the steak within just a mere moment or two.

"You do have a way with knives..." Lightning slowly tasted one of the strawberries from her plate of waffles, which had been lightly coated in syrup, a little bit of butter, and a more generous amount of strawberry sauce. "They gave you bacon, too? You'll hardly even need to eat anything until Sunday."

Fang smirked again. She speared a strip of the bacon with the tines of her fork, before she reached over to set the slice down upon Lightning's plate. "I've got more than enough already, have at it."

Lightning glanced down at the crispy strip of meat. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Fang went back to cutting up her steak, before she practically inhaled the very first bite. "Didn't have a snack after work today..." She smiled at Lightning. "Not like you did."

Lightning remembered the somewhat bland taste of vole flesh, which utterly paled in comparison to the crisp, buttery flavor of the waffles. "When I first started working, I actually tried to cut back on what I was eating." She watched the way that the bright red strawberry sauce pooled near the edge of her plate, and she soon dipped down a small piece of the waffle against it. "Suffice it to say... That didn't work out."

"Well, yeah." Fang gave her a look as if such a concept was all too obvious. "We probably burn a whole truckload of calories out there." She gently smeared a slice of the bacon against one of the soft golden egg yolks. "Not to mention... Prior conditions."

Lightning blinked at the sound of that. It was quite true that lycans usually had to eat enough to fuel each of their bodily forms, from the smaller, wolflike visages to those towering beasts who stood much taller than any human, but their own little family had often gone days, if not _weeks_ without food. She knew from her own research that wild wolves lived within a 'feast or famine' mindset, in which they'd utterly gorge themselves upon a recent kill, while they would later live for up to months at a time without sustenance, moving on in search of other quarry.

"So, don't you worry... I won't mind if you put on a little more weight." Fang winked at Lightning from across the table. "Seriously, Light, you're thinner now than I've ever seen you, even way back then." She looked down at the plates just to make sure that Lightning had eaten the strip of bacon. "Or maybe you've just grown taller."

"Probably. I'm not underweight." Lightning looked down at the ample amount of food on her plate, and while such a thing might have once made a twinge of guilt twist through her heart, she'd grown to embrace whatever she found there before her, if only after all of those nights of bitter hunger. "I do keep track of it, Fang."

Fang shrugged. "Alright... Just saying, I wouldn't mind." She took a small sip of ice water, perhaps to help blend all of the different tastes together. "We could always just wrestle again to burn it off."

Lightning paused at the sound of that. "'Wrestle'..."

Fang's eyes brightened, and she nearly laughed out loud. "Dirty little mind you've got there, Light." She smirked against another sip of water. "But you know what they say about physical exertion..."

"You're so full of it." Lightning couldn't help but smirk as well. "Sometimes I wonder how you won me over, back then."

"Because of my charming disposition?" Fang lowered her voice to a soft, silky murmur. "Or because I'd always kiss everything better if you'd gotten hurt?"

Lightning told herself not to let any amount of color flush into her cheeks. For the most part, she managed to stare right back at Fang with a cool, collected look in her eyes, even if her heart thrummed almost wildly at the memory of 'distracting her from the pain', as they might have once called it, something that had often been offered right back to Fang as well.

"We were kids, Light, just having a little fun with each other." Fang's voice sobered down to a more wistful, almost longing tone. "And it's not that I didn't have real feelings for you, but people of that age, they just can't tell what's up or down or anything in between... It was more like puppy love."

Lightning thought in silence for a long, lingering moment. "Puppy love doesn't go searching for someone when it could've had a fine time living out there in Gran Pulse." She stirred the thin wisps of strawberry sauce against her plate, for it suddenly felt as if she wasn't quite as hungry as before. "Puppy love doesn't... It doesn't make sacrifices for someone, not like that."

Fang hummed quietly, before she lifted over another slice of bacon to Lightning's plate. "Maybe it's not puppy love anymore."

Lightning examined the checkerboard pattern of the table once more, and she slowly traced her fingertips against it. "I had a feeling it wasn't."

"We're older now, Light." Fang dipped a bit of her steak against one of the egg yolks. "Hopefully smarter, too... But we were always just clever enough to make it through until morning." She smiled when Lightning started to eat again. "I don't want this to end."

Lightning felt something flutter right inside her heart, but she still kept herself from reacting to it. "Neither do I."

"But the question is..." Fang brought her voice back down again, just a whisper of sound sent between them. "Do you want it to become something more?"

And within the dim, cozy light of that sleepy little diner, Lightning slowly nodded her head.

* * *

Small paws gripped at the softest part of the feather toy, while even smaller teeth nipped down on the cloth that held the whole thing together, chewing and batting at the entire thing with his hind feet.

"Yeah, I can be in tomorrow..." Snow was holding that strange device up to his ear, the one that made unusual ringing sounds, but the kitten had no earthly idea why he was talking to it. "But like I said, on Sunday... Appreciate it. I'll see what I can do about Monday, too."

The kitten mewed out loud when Snow fell silent.

"What is it, buddy?" Snow looked down over the edge of an armchair, glancing at where the little kitten was tossing the feather toy across the floor. "If you were a puppy, I'd tell you to bring it over here..." He smiled softly, before he leaned over to reach for the toy. "But that'd be pretty weird, wouldn't it? A lycan owning a dog..."

The kitten darted towards the armchair, using his tiny claws to climb all the way up beside Snow.

"You're getting fast at that, aren't you?" Snow gently scratched behind the kitten's ears. "Already climbing things."

The kitten purred and curled up against the arm of the chair, though his paws still reached instinctively towards the feather toy.

"It's been more than just a week or two, hasn't it?" Snow lowered his voice to a whisper. "And Serah says she still can't think of a name for you." He slowly stroked his thumb against the kitten's chin. "I've never named anything in my life... Even myself." Snow looked down at the thick blue scarf at his belt, and he reached down to drape it over his lap, gazing at the woven pattern within the fabric. "Snowflakes." He started to trace his fingertips across the soft white embroidery. "They called me Snow... They said that this was all I had on me when I showed up."

The kitten's ears perked up at the sound of Snow's tone, but he didn't move from the arm of the chair.

"It was the doorstep of a hospital, someone just left me there." Snow's voice grew quieter and quieter. "Just a baby in a blanket... More of a scarf, isn't it? But it was more than big enough for me." He handled the pale fabric as if it was a living thing, just as delicate as the kitten. "Guess we're two of the same kind, huh?"

The kitten merely blinked when Snow tugged back one of his sleeves.

"It happened when I was eight." Snow stared at the smooth expanse of skin upon his left wrist, flecked with so many pale blond hairs. "Just a kid, really..." He still remembered how those massive teeth had latched on far faster than his own eyes could track, and though there had been no scarring left afterward, he still knew exactly where each tooth had struck. "It... It just ran off once it'd bit me, like it didn't even know what happened."

The kitten twitched at the sound of Snow's voice, which was somehow more harsh than before, though it was still soft enough not to frighten him.

"And I had to run away, too." Snow held the scarf in his grip, within the hand that had once been held so tight between the massive jaws of a predator, an image that had seared itself there into the depths of his mind, never to fade away. "Had to get some sort of... _Hold_ over myself, even when the teeth kept coming out, when I woke up looking like a wolf." He slowly shook his head. "You wouldn't believe how Serah is; she's calmer than _anything_ I've ever seen."

The kitten mewed softly when Snow's arms began to shake.

"Sorry." Snow stood up faster than the kitten had ever seen before. "Sorry..." He reached up to clutch his face, remembering the horrific snarl that had once pierced right through him, the flash of teeth and a sudden snapping of jaws, and he scarcely even realized it when he hurried right off into his own room, seeking the refuge of somewhere dark and silent.

In the passing moments, the little kitten slowly padded out across the living room floor, though he paused at the slight scent of smoke. It tickled his nose, but then he smelled something that often seemed to linger upon Snow's clothes, or even wafted through the air of the entire house.

"Just not strong enough..." Snow had his head bowed low, but that didn't stop those long, pointed ears from silhouetting his entire figure, nor did it hide his deep breaths of the pungent herbal scent. "Damn it, she's right... _Bitten_ , it's gotta be different from what they have..." His voice rumbled with the deep promise of a snarl, though he still only spoke his words in a whisper. "If they start up with all of that testing crap, I'm getting the _hell_ out of here." A long, sloped muzzle with a mouth of pointed teeth slowly appeared within the darkness, but somehow, the kitten was not afraid. "And you, you're coming with me... The two of us, birds of a feather... Just orphans in the cold; we have to stick together."

The kitten looked up upon the narrow visage of a canine, yet he still crept forward into the room, within the swirling scents of smoke and strong medicinal herbs, until he reached a closer spot at Snow's side. His work shirt had torn beneath the sudden influx of such coarse, sandy fur, which was banded with a much darker shade of brown, though it was still utterly blond in nature. His eyes, suddenly so rich of gold, yet they only peered blankly at the distance, while his pointed teeth gripped at the end of a lit cigarette almost tenderly, and he just kept puffing at the thick herbal air.

"Fuck." Snow soon raked a clawed hand through the fur on his forehead, before he shivered once, twice, and then reached up to rip his shirt even further apart, just enough to let him breathe again. "Haven't been like this in... Weeks, kiddo... I'm sorry."

The kitten merely settled himself right beside one of Snow's longer paws, where his shoes had long since fallen off, along with most of his socks.

"You're not even afraid." Snow winced when his waistline lurched to join in with the slow shift, gathering itself so many into thick corded muscles and pale white fur. He quickly unbuckled his belt, placing the scarf aside, somewhere that it wouldn't be touched. "Just a little kitten... And you aren't even scared of a damn monster."

The kitten gently batted at one of the curved claws that was sticking out through the fabric of a sock.

"Maybe I smell the same as before." Snow lifted his padded fingertips to adjust the cigarette against his teeth, before he blew out a thick gust of smoke. "Or maybe the weed's just clogged up your nose... Maybe you feel it too." He slowly leaned to the side, landing with a dull thump against the wall beside his bed. "What a weird pair we make, huh?"

Keen golden eyes peered up at the windowpanes. He watched the rain, so very fast and frigid, gazing at the way it froze for a mere instant before swiftly melting back down. "Frost." Snow suddenly smiled, and his teeth began to glimmer beneath the low light of the lit cigarette. "Frost..." He lifted the little kitten against his own fuzzy chest, and he slowly closed his eyes when it purred.

* * *

Lightning felt such warmth in her skin, the gentle grip of soft fingertips against her own, so much that she almost wanted to smile from it. Fang was walking slightly ahead, leading the way on through the glimmering sleet, yet even with the heavy sounds of the rain, the world itself almost felt silent around them. They could smell the wind and the salty air of the cold ocean, and off in the distance, a low, blaring foghorn called to the ships still out at the sea, warning them of the misty shoreline.

"Ever think about going on a boat ride?" Fang smirked from beneath the slim hood of her jacket, and she felt the slightest urge to call back at the echoing horn, perhaps reminding her of a lycan howl. "Or, just imagine... The four of us, out at sea."

Lightning wrinkled her nose at the thought of it. "I'd rather have that cabin in the woods."

Fang glanced over at Lightning with a smile. "Who says we can't have a house near the shore? Then we could get a boat and go fishing for marlin..."

"Marlin?" Lightning almost smiled as well. "I think you're getting ahead of yourself... Have you ever fished in the sea?"

Fang shook her head. "Nah, but I've caught things from rivers, and my dad taught me how to cast a line in the lake." She gently squeezed Lightning's hand. "Caught us a huge pike once... That's a fight I'll never forget."

Lightning looked down over the distant ocean waves, before she squeezed Fang's hand as well. "Is pike good to eat?"

"Of course." Fang listened to the way that her shoes sounded against the rainy pavement, just a soft crunch of water with so many flecks of scattered pebbles. "It's easier to cook one over an open fire, but you can also dig out a hole in the ground and fill it with embers, then wrap the fish up in tin foil, it bakes all nice in there."

"Tin foil." Lightning thought back to the various stories that Fang had once told her, specifically those about the trading posts; she'd often said that her family would stop there to sell and trade their gathered goods, from furs and bones to dried medicinal plants, all manner of natural wares. "Did the cabin have an oven?"

Fang nodded. "Mum would bake bread and hard biscuits for traveling, sometimes pastries." She peered off into the distance for a while, before she spoke in a different tone than before, something soft and quiet. "Did your mom teach you how to cook?"

Lightning kept silent for a very long while. "Yeah."

Fang squeezed her hand again. "I know she loved you."

Lightning paused in mid-stride, prompting Fang to stop as well. They stood there beneath the rain, within the harsh, frigid air that blew in from beyond the coast, hand in hand, waiting silently.

"That's what mothers do." Fang listened to the various people who walked right on past them, humans of the city, and she leaned in to whisper her next few words. "They look after those they love, protecting them, teaching them... And they'd die for them." She reached out to hold Lightning's other hand. "That's how I know she loved you."

Lightning's voice sounded a bit more breathless than she might've liked. "She died of a sickness... People in the home, they just started getting sick."

"Light." Fang watched the rain as it fell all around them, pattering down against the curve of Lightning's jacket hood. "I know it's cruel; nature doesn't love us any more than-" She paused, for the footsteps around her still echoed so close, and her voice would surely be overheard, even if they were all hurrying about in the rain. "All we've got in life is each other... But it doesn't mean that the ones we've lost didn't love us too." Fang held both of Lightning's hands so tightly, and she smiled when Lightning squeezed back again. "And I know for a fact that she loved you."

Lightning spoke in a way that Fang could scarcely even hear. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like she's really gone... But then I remember." She stared out at the swiftly falling rain, and her eyes slipped halfway shut. "What's done is done."

"And we'll live on for her." Fang held a strength to her tone, almost an urgency, though it was far from harsh or insistent. "Her and your dad, both of 'em... The four of us, we'll all live on for them."

* * *

"I told you, that sort of spell just doesn't work-" Serah cringed when a tiny pixel sprite on the computer screen went so gray and motionless, before it twitched again only once. "See, you got yourself killed..."

Vanille just rolled her eyes and reloaded the game. "They shouldn't let you make a magic character if the dragons are immune to magic!" She made a soft grumbling sound, before she clicked the mouse to move her character somewhere else on the map. "The physical mage attack is just way too low damage..."

"Maybe you can hire someone at the inn, there?" Serah was about to point out a certain town on the map, but her phone suddenly buzzed from atop the desk. "Just a minute, don't go after any more monsters."

Vanille sighed. She kept directing her character around the little town, searching for something that might give her the slightest bit of an edge in combat.

Serah looked down at the message on her phone, before a tiny frown crossed her face.

 _Sorry for texting so late. Just wondering if you might have any advice on how to calm down?_

"Oh..." Serah nodded to herself, before she stood up from her chair beside the desk. "I'll be right back."

Vanille didn't glance away from the roving monsters that kept lurking around the outskirts of the virtual town. "Okay."

Serah slowly walked through the hall, moving into her own room, where she sat down on the edge of her bed. "Poor Snow..." She tapped in a message, before she peered up at the hazy flecks of rain upon her window.

A reply appeared after a moment or two. _Nah, my voice is a little scratchy right now, not a good idea to talk. I tried taking a nap after it started, but everything still feels really tense._

Serah tried not to frown again. _Have you tried eating something?_

 _I had dinner before it happened._

Serah almost rolled her eyes. _Have a small snack, or drink some water, it always helps me calm down. And take deep breaths, breathing in through your nose and then out from your mouth._ She wished that she could have been there to say it out loud to him. _And just remember that you're safe there, okay? And if you're ever not safe, if you need help... You just have to ask us, we'll be there._

And within the darkness of the rain, many long, silent moments passed before Snow replied again. _Thanks, Serah._ There was another long pause, though much shorter than the last. _You're one of a kind, you know that?_

Serah felt the slightest hint of something warm creeping its way through her face, and she slowly tapped out her response. _Just trying my best._

Snow replied almost immediately. _I've never had a friend like you before._

Serah suddenly closed her eyes, trying to hold back that trembly little smile on her face. Another message buzzed in, but she didn't see it for more than a moment or two, not when it felt like her heart was about to jump right out and fly away through her bedroom window, no matter if it was closed.

 _And Serah, if you ever need help over there, you just give me a call, okay?_

 _I will._ As she tapped the screen of the phone, Serah slowly stood up again. _Thank you, Snow. We'll still be seeing you this Sunday, right?_

 _Right. :)_

With a soft smile, Serah walked over to approach the hallway again, though she paused when she heard a short sound of frustration; perhaps Vanille was going after the dragon again? She'd already told her not to try it without backup... While Serah pondered if it would even be worth it to try and convince Vanille into restarting the game with a different type of character, she caught hold of another sound, something that echoed near the other end of the hallway. Had Vanille left the television on?

She walked slowly, almost warily, but Serah soon relaxed when she realized that it was indeed just as she'd suspected. With a soft sigh of relief, she moved to sit down on the sofa for a moment, but what she saw upon the television screen, it almost felt as if her heart was suddenly burning.

"We've received no confirmed reports of casualties, but a number of ambulances and medical personnel have already-"

Serah almost wanted to cover her ears in her hands, but she slowly began to grit her teeth, listening to the words of the news reporter, one who was standing out in the rain.

"Witnesses have since stated that the ordeal began when an unknown suspect brandished a small firearm, shouting obscenities at those who had apparently started to confront the protesters at city hall, as well as firing seemingly at random." The reporter was standing in front of a rather regal walkway, but the building behind her was illuminated with the red and blue lights of police cars, and a rather massive area had been sectioned off with yellow tape. "It is unknown at this time if the main protesting force, or even the suspect at large, if such individuals truly belong to those who've begun to identify themselves as the CLR, but we hope that more information will present itself as the case moves forward."

The screen suddenly changed to the wide image of a newsroom, though the reporter's camera feed still remained visible near the edge of the picture.

A newscaster spoke up from behind a rather sleek desk. "While the Gapra police force has declined to comment further until the culprit has been found and detained, we've just received notification from none other than Cid Raines himself, of Eden..." She waited until the screen had changed to just an image of herself and a live feed from somewhere else entirely, a room with only a single person at his desk. "Senator Raines, you've gone on record praising the civility and 'peaceful' outlook that the CLR has since kept... What are your own views on the incident in Gapra, this evening?"

Cid spoke in the calmest tone of voice that Serah had ever heard, yet the mere sound of it almost sent a prickle down her spine.

"My views..?" He peered at the camera as if he could see right through it. "Gapra has always been heralded as a haven for those seeking the beauty of nature and a life free of violence, and the fact that such safety has since been threatened is reason enough to reconsider one's own views." He slowly folded his fingertips together, gloved in thin white silk. "Our fellow citizens are under threat of a violation upon their very rights... And one's rights are tantamount to living peacefully among each other."

The newscaster looked as if she'd wrangled with such elusive wordplay before. "And your personal views on the incident, Senator?"

Cid didn't reply for a moment or two. "I believe that it was likely an act of desperation, but I simply do not have enough information to judge." His eyes turned frigid for a split moment in time. "Besides mere speculation, of course..."

The newscaster didn't return the icy gaze, but her jaw did tighten ever so slightly. "Do you believe that the aggressor may have been afflicted with lycanthropy?"

"What I believe does not impact the truth of the matter." Cid slowly leaned to the side, though he still looked right into the camera. "The truth, my friend, will eventually see this matter on its rightful course... And as I have said before on many occasions, both citizens and _lycanthropic_ citizens should face due penalty when the law is broken due to their actions."

A wry smile crossed the newscaster's face. "And the law that deigns the procedural removal of any afflicted citizen to be justified..?"

"Removal." Cid closed his eyes with just the slightest hint of a smirk on his lips. "What a sanitary word for murder."

* * *

"Strange, it's hardly even freezing when it hits." Fang held her hand out to catch a small droplet of the sleet, watching the way that it melted down against the warmth of her skin. "Looks like a snowflake, but it falls just like a raindrop."

"The ground's still too warm, so is the air." Lightning stepped over a small puddle in the sidewalk. "It's just not cold enough to fully freeze."

"Hm." Fang pulled her jacket a bit tighter against herself, and she fought the urge to shiver. "Could've fooled me." She reached down into her pocket for a stick of gum, though she suddenly frowned when her fingers touched upon an empty packet. "Shit."

Lightning looked back over her shoulder. "What?"

"Out of gum." Fang sighed, before she reached over to hold Lightning's hand again. "Think any stores are still open tonight?"

"There's a little corner shop near home." Lightning gave her a tiny smile. "The woman who owns it, it's a family business... She used to take the time to talk with me whenever I'd scrape up enough to buy dinner there."

Fang quirked a single eyebrow at that. "Dinner from a corner store?"

"They sell sandwiches and clean water." Lightning looked down at the rain puddles beneath her feet. "Better than drinking from the ground."

Fang glanced around at the sidewalk, though the two of them had become rather alone in the later hours of the night, especially with the oncoming weather. "How far are we from home?"

"A little more than a minute or two." Lightning pointed at a nearby junction in the streets. "One left turn, the store is just at the end of the next block." She slowly looked up into the falling sleet, and a bit of frost touched down upon her nose, though she brushed it away before it could even start to melt. "They'll be closing soon; we'd better hurry."

Fang smiled at the quickening pace that Lightning took, yet she followed it in stride, moving on as swiftly as she could. "You're a real sweetheart, you know that?"

Lightning glanced back down at where their hands were still linked. "Why is that?"

"It's just a pack of gum, but you're willing to hurry for it." Fang ran her thumb against the soft curve of Lightning's palm. "It's the little things, you know..."

Lightning glanced away, as if to hide her face behind the fabric of her hood. "Chewing just helps keep us calm, and gum is good for it."

"It's more than that." Fang smirked to herself, but she just kept walking along in the rain. "Don't pretend you aren't good to me."

Lightning scoffed under her breath. "And here I thought you were just a masochist."

Fang stepped forward to reach under the hood of Lightning's jacket, swiftly ruffling her hair. "You're never cruel to me, don't pretend you are..." She kept holding on to Lightning's hand, even when her other one tried to bat her own hand away, the one that was mussing up that soft pink hair. "You should be proud of being so sweet, you hear me?"

Lightning fought back a rather sour look on her face. She quickly darted out with her free hand to tousle up a bit of Fang's own hair, though it was much more difficult when it naturally looked quite wild, almost wolfish in nature.

"Ah, can't do much to this mane, sorry." Fang smirked with all of her teeth, and she even reached up to fluff back a few of the dark locks with her fingertips. "Like my hair, do you?"

Lightning rolled her eyes. "It is impressive." She started to smooth down her own rosy tresses, pushing them back beneath the hood of her jacket. "Just don't mess mine up again when we're in public..."

"Right, right." Fang chuckled low in her throat. "But I kinda like it when you look wild."

Lightning tugged her hood down a bit further. "Like I just got out of bed?"

"Maybe a bed of leaves." Fang kept smiling, and she followed after Lightning down that long, rainy sidewalk, beneath the pale glow of the streetlamps. "Or a bed of snowflakes..." She tipped her chin to look up at the sky. "If it ever snows, that is."

"It will." Lightning turned the corner, and she soon glanced at a small storefront on the opposite end of the road, all the way down the street. "Just give it time."

"Not much time left before Yuletide." Fang yawned, which made her breath turn to mist in the chilly air. "We'll just have to hope for it, I guess."

Lightning glanced both ways before she started to cross the street, making sure that Fang had followed after her. The corner store almost seemed aglow beneath the darkness and the sleet, which made the tall windows glimmer with so many frosty little water drops, like a mirror glazed with ice.

"Hm..." Fang smiled at the sight of several magazine racks near the front of the store, though she could hardly even see them through the foggy window panes. "If we weren't still reading through my birthday book, I might take a peek at some of those."

Lightning nearly rolled her eyes at that. It was no small secret to her that back in the days when they traveled together, that whenever their younger companions were both fast asleep, that Fang would retrieve a certain bit of reading material from a concealed part of her personal traveling bag. While it was often just a book or a magazine that she'd saved up for, either purchased or traded, it was just as often something that she wouldn't let Lightning see, not even a single word or picture... At least until she had turned thirteen. And even then, Fang would often clear her throat and swiftly turn to another page, choosing to read aloud in order to keep certain details hidden.

"You and your trashy novels..." Lightning hid another smirk behind her jacket hood. "Hate to break it to you, but they don't sell any of that here, not even in the magazines."

"Shame." Fang smiled as Lightning held the door open for her. "I was hoping to get a few chemistry lessons."

Lightning turned to give her a look that was just as cold as the rain. "Keep that up, and the only chemistry you'll be seeing is in the kitchen." She looked over to nod at the cashier in greeting, making sure that her expression wasn't still so harsh.

"Ouch..." Fang smirked again, and she walked over to browse one of the aisles, gazing at all of the colorful goods. "Baking cookies again?"

Lightning scoffed almost silently. "You wish." She followed after Fang, though she did spare a brief glance at the magazine displays. "Aren't you supposed to be looking for gum?"

"I am." Fang paused before a counter that held several different things, including a stack of boxed cookies. "You think they keep it near the register?"

"Yeah." Lightning turned to lead the way. "Come on, I'm ready to crawl right to sleep when we get home."

Fang followed after her, and she soon knelt down to pick out a flavor of gum from beside the front counter. "You still like spearmint, right?"

"Yeah." Lightning smiled softly at the little old lady who sat behind the counter; while she had never learned her first or last name, nor given her own, she'd often stopped at the little corner store to speak with the old woman for far longer than she would with most strangers. "Pretty cold out there tonight."

The elderly lady moved to set her newspaper down near the cash register. "Oh yes... The rain starts to freeze around this time of year." She adjusted her slim glasses with a soft, quiet sigh on her lips. "I do wish it was easier to get around in the snow, but it always looks so beautiful from here."

Lightning nodded without a sound.

Fang stood up again with a package of gum in her hand. "Evening, ma'am."

The old woman smiled at her. "Oh, a new face around here..?"

Lightning glanced back at Fang. "Old friend of mine."

Fang reached into her pants pocket for her wallet, before she set a single bill down upon the counter, along with the package of gum. "Nice little place you've got here."

The little old lady smiled at her, and she began to ring up the pack of gum. "That's nice of you to say, I'm just afraid that I might have to downsize my stock next year..." Her wrinkled fingers still tapped at the register with pinpoint accuracy. "Too many new stores around here, I just can't compete with them at my age."

Lightning tried her best not to frown. "You know I'll still buy whatever I can from here."

"That's very nice of you." The old woman smiled at her. "One of my favorite customers..." She placed the pack of gum into a small paper bag, which was printed with the flowery little emblem of the shop. "Do come again, and try to stay out of the rain! No good from getting soaked down to the bone like that, you'll just catch yourself a nasty chill."

Fang nodded as she accepted the bag. "Thank you kindly..."

It was a brief walk back towards the front of the store, and Lightning held the door open again, but she only spoke once they had reached the street that led on towards the apartments, where the glow of the streetlights shimmered a bit less brightly than before.

"I don't even know her name." Lightning felt the cold raindrops pattering down upon her jacket, and every breath she took smelled frosty and crisp. "Back before we had the apartment, I wandered in there once... I must've looked scruffy, because she made me take one of those sandwiches in the wall refrigerators, wouldn't even let me pay for it."

Fang reached over to hold Lightning's hand again. "Nice of her."

Lightning looked down at her feet. "Do you think... People like that, do you think they'd do the same things if they knew..?" There was no one else around the sidewalk at that hour of the night, yet Lightning still spoke in a low murmur. "It almost feels like a lie."

"It's not lying if it keeps us from getting killed." Fang's upper lip curled at the mere thought of it, even if she still felt rather comforted by the kindly demeanor of the little old woman. "I mean, it's lying, but I wouldn't count it as a sin."

Lightning kept silent for a very long while. "I'm glad you're here with me."

Fang squeezed her hand once more, before they both moved to approach the rainy little crosswalk, towards the path that would lead them home.

* * *

Serah glanced up when she heard the low rumble of keys in the door. "Light..." She looked back over at the television screen, and she swiftly decided that it was probably better to turn it off for the time being. If Lightning happened to be coming home in good spirits, then there was no use in bringing her down with the news.

Footsteps soon echoed quietly into the front hall, before Fang appeared from behind the narrow archway. "Hey, Serah."

"Hey..." Serah moved to stand up from the couch, but Fang was already moving off into the other hall. "Did you guys have a nice time?"

Fang paused to smile at her. "We did." That keen glimmer in her eyes, it wasn't quite wary, but the way that her lip twitched spoke of something quite different, something that spoke louder than she could ever say: _'I know you hid something just now, but don't even bother denying it; I won't chase after your secrets.'_

Yet Serah held her ground. Damn that _damn_ crafty nose, she thought to herself, and damn her own scent for betraying just a hint of nervousness. "Rainy out there, isn't it?"

"Yup..." Fang smiled again when Lightning wandered in from the kitchen, already divested of her jacket and purse. "Light looks pretty sleepy from it."

Lightning merely nodded. "Just a long day today." She covered a soft yawn with the back of her wrist, before she moved over to accept a gentle hug from Serah. "Everything okay while we were gone?"

Serah cursed herself for hesitating. "Um... A just couple things."

Lightning physically tensed from that strange little tone in Serah's voice, and she slowly leaned back from the hug.

"The first one isn't so serious..." Serah fought the urge to fidget. "You can ask Vanille about it, she said she'd tell you, but on the news tonight..." She tried to keep herself utterly still beneath not only one, but two inquisitive gazes. "Something happened at those protests today." Serah took a very deep breath, before she glanced back at the living room. "There, uh... Maybe you can look it up, but it wasn't a lycan attack."

A long silence drifted between them. "Should we be worried?" Lightning almost looked as if she was about to go into the living room to try and catch another news broadcast, if only there weren't such shadows beneath her eyes, nor a slight shade of exhaustion in her voice. "Just summarize it for us."

"Someone fired a gun..." Serah spoke in less than a murmur. "People were being taken away in ambulances, but they didn't say anything about actual lycans."

"Alright." Lightning exhaled, almost a sigh, before she turned to face the hallway. "If you want to keep watching, I'd appreciate knowing what else they might figure out."

Serah nodded. "Okay." She almost froze under Fang's next gaze, until she realized that it was one of pride, not scrutiny, and she suddenly went very still when Fang hugged her.

"You're a good kid." Fang smelled of fresh rain and the chilly ocean air, but she also held the scents of the forest, so dark and deep and comforting. "You know that, right?"

Serah slowly hugged Fang back. "Thanks..."

"Just relax, Serah." Fang reached up to pat the back of her head. "Light and I will never snap at you for the truth, okay?"

"Okay." Serah relaxed even further. "Light gets news updates on her phone, but I wasn't sure if she'd turned them off while you guys were out..."

"She probably did." Fang smiled when she leaned back from the hug, before she gently tapped at Serah's forehead. "Well, I'm off to bed soon... You should get some rest, too."

Serah nodded, watching as Fang turned to follow after where Lightning had gone. "I will."

And in the hallway, it sounded as if the water was already running in the bathroom sink. Fang smiled softly to herself, before she leaned back against the wall to focus on her inner thoughts. It used to be that Serah would always hide away the things that truly frightened her, even if she could never really conceal her scent. But perhaps the way towards bravery wasn't confronting it headlong, as Fang had once thought it might be. She'd never tried to push Serah's limits, of course, for there were some things that did much more harm than good, but a long, knowing look often brought those little things out into the open, even if they were mostly utterly innocuous. Serah used to startle at the slightest sound in the woodlands, as if she was utterly convinced that _something_ out there in the night was going to hunt her down and hurt her, and either Fang or Lightning would have stand watch for a while, at least until Serah quietly shivered herself back to sleep.

The sound of a toothbrush echoed against a small plastic cup, and Lightning soon stepped out from the bathroom. "All yours."

Fang nodded, before she walked inside to retrieve her own toothbrush. She dabbed it with water and a bit of minty paste, yet she found that her mind was wandering right back towards Serah.

That poor little girl, Fang thought, even though it seemed like she'd toughened up considerably since then. There had been nothing else they could really do for it back in those days, besides being there to comfort her. Serah was many things, but her most useful traits often appeared where they were least expected; while something as tiny as a snapping twig would send her into a silent state of dread, she'd hardly ever react outwardly to the sound of a gunshot or rapidly approaching footfalls. No, she didn't seem to panic whenever they were attacked, likely because she knew exactly what gunfire meant, but a hidden presence in the woods, that could be _anything_ at all, and it seemed as if Serah feared the unknown much more than anything of the opposite nature.

And Fang she wandered back into the hall, towards the far side of the apartment, Lightning's voice drew her away from her inner musings. "You can't kill those with regular spells." A slight pause drifted within the sound of the rain. "Yeah, it's hidden right under the inn."

Fang slowly approached the open doorway of Lightning's room. When she caught sight of the pair of them beside the computer, she merely smiled, before she then wandered on to sit down against the edge of Lightning's bed.

"It's a warlock covenant, you'll need special spells for a mage to be able to kill dragons." Lightning was resting her forearms against the back of the desk chair, gazing down at the computer screen. "Curses, specifically."

"How do you know so _much_ about this?" Vanille tipped her chin back to look up at Lightning. "Serah said you only play these when you can't sleep at night."

Lightning smirked at the computer screen. "True, but when I do, I go all the way..." She pointed at a certain shadowy character within the inn cellar. "That's the dark magic tutor; I just hope you've collected enough money to buy hex spells."

Vanille almost whimpered. "How long does that take?"

Lightning just shrugged, before she stepped away to sit down on the edge of the bed, reaching down to untie her shoes. She looked over at Fang for a moment, who had already gotten herself out of her sneakers and was laying down on the other side of the bed, gazing out at the raindrops on the window panes.

"This is just too much work for one stupid dragon..." Vanille tried not to pout, for the price it would take to learn hexes seemed utterly monumental. "How did you ever get this stuff, Light?"

Lightning tossed her socks away into a laundry bin. "I didn't, I just looked it up in the guide." She looked over at her leather crafting tools, the specialized knives, tweezers, spools, and bottled chemicals, which were resting on the other end of the desk. "I don't usually have enough time for games, but I'll help you tomorrow if I can."

"Okay." Vanille soon exited the game and turned the chair around to face them. "Did you guys have fun tonight?"

"Of course." Fang was reading the back cover of a certain novel, the very same one that she'd gotten for her birthday. "You ready for Yuletide shopping tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Vanille smiled brightly. "So soon already..."

"We're only around a week away." Lightning picked up Fang's shoes to place them near the doorway, where she set her own sneakers down as well. "And Saturday is as good as any other time... It might be crowded, but it's all the better to go unnoticed." She knew that the two of them might not want to think about such things, especially not so close to a holiday, but her own concerns for their safety didn't pause for any reason. "Safer to go in pairs... Less chance that anyone might recognize us."

"We won't all go together?" Vanille started to frown at that, but she tried her best not to let the sadness tinge her voice as well. "We haven't all been outside for something in... I can't even remember."

"Sunday, Vanille." Fang set her book down and beckoned with one of her hands, and she smiled when Vanille walked over to lean down and hug her so tightly. "Don't forget about Sunday... Gotta teach that friend of Serah's how to be a respectable lycan, eh?"

Vanille giggled against one of Fang's shoulders. "Snow was really funny."

"He does seem nice." Fang stroked her hand against Vanille's hair, remembering the way it felt whenever she did so just to calm her down, even not so long ago, those nights when the tears would all return at once. "Now, go get some sleep so you won't feel like a zombie while we get our shopping done, alright?"

Vanille nodded, before she hugged Fang even tighter, and then she leaned away to hop down from the edge of the bed. "Okay... Night Fang." She skipped on over to hug Lightning too, near the doorway. "Night Light!"

And as she hugged her back, Lightning reached up to gently brush her fingertips against the top of Vanille head. "Sleep well, Vanille."

Fang watched the way that Vanille skipped on out again, before she looked back at Lightning, who had since wandered over to turn off the computer and push the desk chair back into place.

"I don't like the sound of what Serah said." Lightning stepped over to close the door, and she slowly leaned against it, gazing back at the opposite wall. "Gunshots..."

"C'mere." Fang sat up against the bed sheets. "She said the news didn't say anything about lycans."

"It's still a rarity." Lightning slowly moved towards the bed again, but she paused to remove a set of pajamas from the dresser, as well as some for Fang, the pair that she had been given for her birthday. "And lycan or not, those protests are still _about_ the blood testing..." She chewed at her bottom lip for a brief moment, before she moved to sit down on the bed and unfold her own nightclothes, placing Fang's set upon the sheets between them. "Which means that lycans are in the spotlight."

"But we did just fine this evening..." Fang tugged off her own shirt from over her shoulders, and she reached back around to unfasten her bra. "Didn't look like the news traveled much."

Lightning had already gotten her flannel nightshirt on, though she paused when she felt a soft, gentle touch upon the back of her neck. "Fang..."

"If we sniff out any danger tomorrow, we'll head right back home, okay?" Fang slowly wrapped her arms around Lightning's bare waist, so smooth and warm, not yet covered in her flannel bottoms. "But it's nearly Yuletide... We can't stop living our own lives just because someone's making a fuss out there."

Lightning felt a warm breath brush across the nape of her neck, and she slowly relaxed when Fang pressed another kiss to her skin, coaxing a small sound of agreement from her throat.

"Want me to read out loud again tonight?" Fang moved to murmur her words against one of Lightning's shoulders. "I think you fell asleep right before we got to the good part."

Lightning nodded. She slowly leaned away to tug her flannel pajamas over her feet and legs, before she looked over at what Fang was wearing. A soft violet hue made the fabric look so silky and smooth, like the waves of the ocean before sunrise; Lightning knew that Fang often found herself in the midst of the deep dreams, and that she'd wake up as a lycan of over eight feet in height, not to mention far more muscular in bulk, which was never very kind to the clothes she was wearing. But those, a set that Lightning had found in a little shop specializing in robes and comfortable sleepwear, she'd first been drawn to the fact that it was only held together by a length of loose silken string at the neck and the upper waist, a balance between modesty and what would happen if Fang was to suddenly change forms, enough to simply push the garb aside without even damaging the fabric.

"I had a lot of fun tonight..." Fang already started to settle herself down against one of the pillows, where she gave Lightning a lazy wink. "What do you think of that little tunnel I dug?"

"It looks secure." Lightning stood up for a moment to turn off the switch for the overhead lights, leaving only the bedside lamp to keep the room illuminated. "It's good that you made it near the water, in case if we ever need to hide our scent."

"The rain might help, too." Fang yawned almost silently, before she hummed when Lightning moved to snuggle in beside her. "But when it snows..."

Lightning closed her eyes, thinking of the way that the winter world grew so very silent in so many ways, a sword with double edges. In a blank slate, in the snowfall, scents could be tracked without distraction, like a single line of dark ink on a sheet of pure white paper, but they could also be swept away by the harsh winds or covered up in even more snow, and sniffing the cold air for long enough could make one's nose feel numb and painful. They'd been tracked by dogs before, animals employed by those who hunted their kind. While such creatures were easy enough to scare off with a roar or a rough scratch to the nose, many brave animals had met their end by backing either Fang or Lightning into a corner, forced between the choice of being continually hounded down or ending the threat right then and there. But the thought of what Fang had said, of _lycans_ in radio collars... A slight prickle ran down Lightning's spine, but she stifled it by cuddling even closer.

"Now, where were we?" Fang had already picked up the book again, and she was slowly thumbing her way through the pages to find the one that she'd marked with a stray scrap of paper. "They were searching for that ancient tome, I know that much..."

Lightning didn't open her eyes, but she slowly nodded against Fang's neck.

"There... Just tell me if this sounds too familiar." Fang paused upon a certain page, before she spoke in a much different tone than before, the same sort of voice she always used when she was reading aloud. "The fen wolf, Fenrisulfr, either Fenris or Fenrir in the common tongue, was said to haunt these very marshlands ever since breaking free of Gleipnir." Fang smiled at the page. "It seemed fitting, as our own quarried tome was known as the 'Mountain Root', likely named after one of those strange, fabled components of Gleipnir."

Lightning opened her eyes for just a moment. It was the name of _two_ books, in truth, the book that the characters were searching for, and the very novel that Fang was reading from.

"The various bowman of our party ranged the land from east to west, scouting out the marshes for any hints of danger, but none could tell if the deep water pits were even passable; there was simply too much pond scum and thick floral growth within an unusual season of bloom, though when I spoke to Sylvan of such things, he merely shrugged off the strange winter flora as a blessing from his own eastern gods."

"Sylvan." Lightning tried to remember which chapter that character had been introduced in. "I like that name."

Fang paused to look away from the page. "It's got a bit of historical meaning." She let the book rest beneath her chin, before she curled one of her arms under and around Lightning's waist, holding her even closer. "Like the book says... Far in the east, there used to be a whole pantheon of gods and mythology, but most of it was lost long before either Gran Pulse or Cocoon came to be." Fang still held the book in one hand, while she gently hugged Lightning with her other. "The Sylvan race, which was the same as the human name for 'forest', they were supposed to be these little tree nymphs... But they were a lot more like fae spirits than just stupid pests in the undergrowth."

Lightning took a moment to try and remember something that Serah had once taught her about the very same region of history. "Is this related to the god Sylvanus?"

"Exactly." Fang gently patted at Lightning's arm. "Paid attention to your history, haven't you?"

Lightning shook her head. "Serah just likes talking about whatever she learns."

"Hm." Fang looked back at the cover of the book. "My mum always loved stories like this... Stuff about the old gods, the ways they'd get along with the lesser deities, maybe even a few magic creatures." She lifted the book back up again, before she began to read out loud. "And when the cold winds swept right back in from the west, we began our march over the frozen pits, crossing those long, ice marked rivers that flowed as slowly as molten rock. Two of the oxen were lost upon the first day, for all manner of venomous beasts live their own lives beneath that dark, murky liquid, and even in the chill of winter, they will not stop preying upon those who dare to cross even the shallowest of channels."

Lightning closed her eyes again, and she listened closely.

"The mules brayed loudly in the night, calling out to each other, though the oxen did not bellow or snort. I suppose they were wise not to do so, even if it might have kept the marsh creatures at bay, for the sound itself might have revealed our true numbers. We still lost more than a mere pittance of mules, but it was not to the beasts of the midnight hours, no... It was to the hunger of the marsh itself." Fang paused to turn the page. "On that day, it was as if the world itself had opened up beneath them, even in what looked to be the very safest place to cross... A jagged maw suddenly creaked apart as they screeched and struggled, but they were suddenly lost within a mere instant, gone from this world to the jaws of a massive lindworm."

Lightning opened her eyes to look at the eager expression Fang's face.

"We drew swords upon the creature, calling out in challenge; it would not steal so many of our beasts of burden, all carrying such precious supplies, at least not without forfeiting its own life." Fang's eyes seemed to glimmer with excitement. "One of the wagons _cracked_ from so far, _far_ beneath, and those deadly teeth suddenly plunged up again into the depths of so many bags of grain, sapping our food supplies right out from under our watch, where it trickled back down into the murky maw of the great worm. There was a sound unlike any other, perhaps akin to the screeching of steel upon steel, of crossed swords, and the beast suddenly shuddered as if in true pain. I do not recall feeling particularly courageous as I sank my blade down against the softer flesh beside one of those wretched, venomous teeth, but my companions would later sing that I had drawn first blood of that battle... And that the honor of facing the beast, the draconic horror of a worm, that it fell to me to see it slain, or at least sent back towards the depths of hell, or Niflhel, as the locals called it, from whence it likely came."

And with that, Lightning slowly closed her eyes again, before she faded off into slumber.

"...Silly girl." Fang spoke in less than a whisper. "Falls asleep on me before I even get to finish a page or two." She reached up to stroke her fingertips through Lightning's hair, soothing her even further. "Is it something about my voice?"

Lightning didn't even stir.

"Sleep well, Light." Fang let her own gaze drift for just a moment, before she gently closed the book. She moved to set it down against the nightstand, where she reached up to switch off the lamp light. "See you in the morning." She soon settled back down again to hold Lightning close, whispering wordless little nothings against her skin, so very breathy and soft. "...Love you."

* * *

His pawprints lingered for only a brief instant, just a hazy outline of slush in the puddles of the road, where he walked within the form of a wolf for the first time in several weeks.

It was just far too cold outside, he told himself, enough to need his thick winter pelt, which was already starting to gain back a bit of luster. His injuries, though they still ached, they were all nearly healed, and only the most stubborn of wounds refused to stop scabbing up, but it were mostly hidden by his longer coat, beneath pale silver and a few bands of darker gray. He looked for all the world like a wolf again, walking there with a long, fluffy pelt. Yet he still needed to stay low, not to draw any attention from those who walked among the brightly lit streets, traveling beneath wreaths of vibrant holly and long, colorful banners, beside trees that glowed like so many pinpricked stars.

Another holiday, Hope realized, and he began to briefly remember his own younger days, just a mere child in the midst of a grand celebration. He remembered those gifts given to each other beneath a luminous tree, the way his parents used to- Hope suddenly growled, so long and low, and his hackles lifted with those long tufts of banded fur. It would not do to think about them, not when he swore that he could still taste the blood of a murderer...

He moved to retreat down the darker alleyways, far from the lights of the main streets, where he started to paw through a stray trashcan, likely overturned by a raccoon. The rain kept dripping down and dropping against his fur, but Hope merely sought out a wrapped box of scarcely-eaten cheeses, which he swiftly tore open and scarfed right down without even pausing to savor the taste. Why in the world would someone ever throw away something so _good?_ The elegant box almost looked exotic, all wrapped up in delicate red and green ribbons, and it carried the scents of more than just a few humans, likely passed from hand to hand until it had reached the proper recipient. No matter, their foolish little loss was his own gain, and he soon walked away from the trash bin with a rather wonderful feeling in his stomach, as if his strength was truly returning again.

The wounds had drained his energy away, lingering there like the very same trauma that still plagued his every thought, though he soon found that wandering around as a wolf could suppress his human feelings. Wolves would also grieve for those they'd lost, searching for them by the course of mournful howls and low whimpers, though some would instead go utterly silent and still, as if the loss had knocked the very life out of them as well. But Hope could do neither of those. If he called out in mourning, he would soon be discovered and killed. If he merely slumped against the ground and refused to move, he would, again, be discovered and then possibly killed, if his true nature was revealed.

While it seemed as if his pursuers were effectively blinded by the loss of their own lycan, with the way the city had all but grown utterly fearsome at the mere mistake he'd made, Hope knew that to stop moving was to die, and to die was to negate the sacrifice his mother had made, even if it meant he might just see her again, if there was indeed an afterlife.

He did pause to rest, though it could not be for long. A stray stack of wooden boxes kept the rain at bay, yet the chill in the air crept in past even the thickest coats of fur. Hope shivered, curling up so that he could tuck his nose down beneath the fluffy tip of his tail. His ears twitched, and his stomach grumbled somewhat appreciatively from his recent meal. It had been the same lately, so much good discarded food, likely unwanted gifts from those who had been long since estranged, or perhaps from well-meaning relatives, those who didn't know that their presents would not be a good fit.

Hope mumbled against the fuzzy hairs of his tail. At least for a while he'd eat well, unless the sound of gunshots echoed out into the city yet again. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, before he slowly began to doze off into sleep.

* * *

A light rain still drizzled by the time Lightning woke, though she didn't open her eyes for a while, not when her head was still tucked there beneath Fang's chin, all nuzzled up against her warm neck. She could feel the gentle breaths within her elegant throat, and a steady heartbeat pulsed against her own ear. There was such beauty to the rhythm of a body, Lightning decided, something primal and utterly calming, as if they were both close enough to truly understand each other on some level they had never touched before. She knew, perhaps by instinct, that it was something truly voiceless.

Fang was resting against her side, with her dark hair fanned out against the pillows. Some of it tickled at Lightning's nose, but she merely reached up to brush the stray strands away. She felt the softness of those rich brown locks, nearly black in hue, and they almost felt like silk between her fingertips.

"Mhm..." Fang yawned for a good long moment, and her teeth clicked quietly once she closed her mouth again. "Light?"

"Just go back to sleep." Lightning slowly threaded her fingertips through the tangled maze of Fang's hair. "It's still early."

"Hm." Fang adjusted her arms, one of which was draped around Lightning's waist, while the other she'd since splayed against the pillow, resting her upper arm beneath Lightning's neck. "Yuletide shopping today..."

Lightning tried not to sigh. "Too early."

"I know, I know..." Fang hummed when Lightning nuzzled back in against her neck. "Been meaning to ask you something."

Lightning wrapped her other arm around Fang's back, hugging her close. "Ask."

"Do we have an average price in mind for presents?" Fang hugged Lightning as well, and her gaze wavered slightly, though only because it couldn't be seen. "There's something I want to get for you."

Lightning stirred a bit, as if to try and look up at Fang. "I suppose asking what it is would get me nowhere."

Fang hummed again. "It's gotta be a surprise, Light... No fun if it isn't." She looked over at the wooden dresser near the door, where she could see a pair of slim winter gloves resting against the countertop. "It might be a little pricey."

Lightning kept dozing away for a moment, before she slowly shrugged her shoulders. "You've been bringing in half of our income, Fang; if you want to spend some of it, you've got a right to do so."

"You make it sound so _businesslike_..." Fang spoke with a wry tone to her voice, but she still reached up to gently tickle the back of Lightning's neck; in truth, she'd already placed a down payment on the purchase in question, for Lightning had given her a payment card that was attached to her bank account, allowing her to withdraw cash from it. "Gotta let things loose once in a while."

Lightning didn't even care enough to grumble at her.

"But you're right, it is pretty damn early..." Fang yawned again, before she stretched her right arm up into the air, while her left one remained tucked against the pillow, near Lightning's neck. "Morning, Light."

"Morning." Lightning's voice was less than a low whisper. "Let's just get a little more sleep."

"Sure, love." Fang stroked her fingertips down and across Lightning's shoulders, stroking her through the thin flannel fabric. "We'll have fun today... Just you wait."

And from beneath the warm crook of her chin, Lightning gently kissed at the softest curve of Fang's neck.

* * *

A strange sort of glimmer took the city by storm, no matter if the din of voices reached so far into the air; protests marched on despite the holiday season, with harsh breaths frosting out within the frigid air, shouts calling off into the earliest hours of the day, though the only red hue that shone was for the banners of a long-awaited Yuletide.

Vanille nearly gasped at the sight of it; the bustling main plaza of downtown Gapra, decorated with more colorful lights than she had ever seen before, all patterned in rich golds and silvers, reds and greens, and though there wasn't even much more than a puddle of rain on the ground, the lack of snowfall did nothing to detract from the glamour.

Lightning was still sipping at a cup of something from her breakfast trip to a local coffee shop, some sort of warm white chocolate cocoa. "We'll meet up with Serah and Fang after an hour or so..." She tucked her phone back into her pocket. "Where first?"

Vanille felt as if her eyes had been forever widened by the sight of the holiday fare. "Oh... Maybe we could just wander around?" She turned to smile at Lightning, at the way she still looked so stoic even within the presence of tall evergreen trees draped in delicate sparkling lights, in a world of little holograms that danced around in slow circles among the falling digital snow, and beneath long banners that still flapped so cheerfully in the frosty wind, heralding the holiday itself. "I'm sure we'll find something before long."

Lightning nodded. "Just lead the way."

Vanille almost paused at the sound of that. Lightning wanted _her_ to lead the way? Wouldn't it be better the other way around? Vanille slowly nibbled the inside of her cheek, before she picked a direction at random, following the natural flow of the crowds, of the hundreds of holiday shoppers. It wasn't often that she was the one to choose which way to go, not that she truly minded; if she ever wanted to look at something or go somewhere, she'd merely point it out to one of her older companions and they'd go sniff around to see if there was anything dangerous about it.

"Let's just hope we don't go home to an empty bank account." Lightning always seemed a bit grumpy if she didn't have something productive to do in the morning, at least until she woke up all the way. "We'll get enough to make it a nice time... But remember, if you see something you aren't sure about, just wait and see if something better turns up; we have all day to look."

Vanille nodded with a rather warm smile on her face. "Don't worry Light, I'll be careful." She skipped over the little cracks in the brick sidewalk, glancing around at all of the glimmering storefronts and open carts of holiday goods. "What sort of stuff do you think you'll get for everyone?"

"I'm not sure yet." Lightning paused among the bustling crowds when she caught sight of a rather unusual hologram; it was a tiny white reindeer that pranced around in wide circles upon the window of a nearby shop. "But I'll find something before long."

Vanille looked back over her shoulder to make sure that Lightning was still keeping up through the crowds, before she giggled under her breath. "See something back there?"

Lightning shook her head. "They're just getting good at making those..." She gestured at a different hologram, one of a snowman who was waving at the crowds from atop a small metal platform, which likely had the image generator hidden inside. "They were a lot less realistic back when I was a kid."

Vanille almost wanted to reach out and feel the sharp chill of the cheerful snowman, even if it was all just a clever little illusion, light and color mixed up together to create a moving, breathing image, mere fantasy come to life. "You're not that old, Lightning."

Lightning just sipped at her drink, gazing right through the jolly little hologram. "...Sometimes it feels like I am."

* * *

"Oh, these are nice..." Serah was browsing through a small display case of different bracelets, most of which were made out of silky ribbons and glass beads. "Light's not usually one for this sort of thing, but Vanille might like them."

Fang glanced down at her own necklace, at the lovely little stone that Vanille herself had carved into a vaguely sharp shape, perhaps a tooth, for the purpose of her namesake. "Hmm."

"You okay?" Serah looked up from the bracelets and baubles, along with several other trinkets made out of soft leather or cloth. "Fang?"

Fang slowly drew herself back to attention. "Yeah, sorry." She glanced back at Serah. "What's up?"

"You were just spacing out a little..." Serah walked over to stand beside Fang again. "Do you want to look somewhere else?"

Fang was not usually one to hesitate, but she took a brief moment just to consider the idea that had already been floating around in her head for several weeks. "Would you mind if I went off alone for a minute or two? I'll meet you right back here."

"Oh." Serah began to smirk a little. "Something for Light..?"

Fang narrowed her eyes with a wry smirk of her own. "Get your mind out of the gutter, you." She gently ruffled Serah's hair, before she walked over to approach the doorway of the little boutique. "It's nothing like that... Not at all."

Serah merely smiled. She moved back to browse through some of little leather bracelets, though she had a feeling that Lightning could already make something of the same type of material, perhaps with an even better carving.

Fang soon listened to the sound of soft metal bells as the door swung open and shut again. She made a beeline for the very place that she had wandered into so many weeks ago, when she'd felt like she might just drop dead if she didn't get a certain concept out of her mind. She must have looked inside a hundred other places, but it was within that little shop there in the plaza, a place that had held a rather unique scent... She could smell it, even then, as she approached the wide glassy windows with such sparkling goods behind them. No lycan could ever hide their scent from one of their own, not without moving through water or masking it with something pungent, but even a douse of perfume couldn't fool Fang's tireless nose.

Yet as she made her way through the doorway, into a place that smelled of fine metal and polishing chemicals, her fellow lycanthrope didn't look quite as concerned to see her as before, not when she'd made it clear that she was no threat to anyone else who was peaceful. The woman stood at a rather short height, even shorter when she sat behind the counter, where she was rather busy tagging merchandise with identification clips.

"How is it?" Fang had no need to bother with formalities, not when they were two of the same kind, far free from human conventions. "Will it be done by Yuletide?"

The woman looked up at her from beneath a slim pair of glasses, and she spoke slightly louder than a whisper. "Custom work is often quite difficult..."

Fang set her elbows down against the counter. "How far along is it?" She nearly sighed at the sight of the identification tags. "Listen... Is there any way I could get you to keep working on mine instead?"

The woman gave her a rather belabored look.

"I'll make it worth your while." Fang glanced around at the other customers, as well as the various employees, but none of them seemed to pay much attention to the two hidden wolves in their midst. "Come on, anyone out there been giving you trouble, something I could take care of..?" She kept her voice down to a low murmur. "Or could we sweeten the deal? A little bonus for your own Yuletide?"

The woman's gaze turned sharp, yet not in an aggressive way; lycans often spoke in such tones of sharpness, almost like a faint maw of grinning teeth, though she didn't seem to be smiling, either. "Sweetened? I'll only ask this... Who is it for? Are you just a middleman?" Her eyes darted off to the side when a fellow employee walked behind the counter, and she brought her voice down even quieter than before. "Someone you care about?"

Fang's gaze went very, _very_ distant, almost wistful. "More than anything."

"Then I'll put as much time into it as I can." The other lycan looked back down at the plastic tags, before she spoke in a voice more befitting of a craftsman to a customer, enough that their words could be overhead if needed. "Come see us again before Yuletide, ma'am, you won't be disappointed."

Fang tapped at the counter with a rather appreciative smirk. "You won't be, either."

* * *

It felt as if the morning passed by in a blur, and Lightning found herself carrying a small number of colorful bags, which she soon placed down against a bench near the edge of the indoor food court. She sat beside them with a sigh; Saturdays were always quite tough. She was still used to working on the house, not wandering around in a shopping plaza, and Vanille's sunny demeanor could drain away her energy just as easily as a workday, almost as if she'd had to run along at full speed just to keep up with her.

"We could go get a table." Vanille moved to set down her own shopping bags as well. "You think Fang and Serah are here yet?"

Lightning looked out over the various tables, before she reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone. "I'll ask."

Vanille sat down on the bench beside her. "Busy weekend, isn't it? We've still got Sunday, too."

And as she tapped in a message to Serah, a small smile crossed Lightning's face. It had indeed been too long since they'd all hunted together, several years, to be more precise. And even the fact that they'd have an apprentice along, Lightning knew it likely wouldn't detract from the experience; she'd simply tell him to observe the first hunt, and then if they spent a long enough time tracking down a second animal, she might just let him join in.

"Everything always feels so busy before Yuletide." Vanille slowly swung her feet back and forth. "It's just weird getting so many presents... I remember the stuff you and Fang used to get for us."

Lightning lowered her phone back down against her lap, and she looked out over the crowded little food court, though she was gazing at nothing in particular. "We did whatever we could."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that." Vanille grinned at her. "It was always real fun, you know? It made the day feel special..." She turned to glance at the tables as well, yet she found herself looking more towards the wide glass of the windows, where not a single speck of snow had fallen yet. "I just hope it feels more wintery soon."

"'Wintery'?" Lightning smiled softly. "You just want to play around in the snow, don't you?"

Vanille giggled. "Who doesn't?! It's like _magic_ when it falls, the whole world just... Changes." She pressed her fingertips together and then quickly opened them again. "Poof, like a magic trick."

Lightning nodded without speaking.

"It snowed on the mountains in Gran Pulse." Vanille peered out at the crowds, listening to how so many voices and sounds all blended together, from the clatter of trays to sizzling food behind the counters, even the bells of those who stood in the corners of the massive room, collecting coins for charity. "I'd never been so far up in the air before... When I looked down, it felt like I could see everything." She kept her hands upon her lap, but she slowly folded them, remembering how her front nails and dewclaws had gripped upon the rocky mountainsides. "The jungle was so warm, but then up there, out on the top... It felt like a whole different world."

Lightning glanced down when her phone buzzed against her knee. "Maybe you and Fang can show me someday."

Vanille's eyes widened slightly.

"Serah says they'll be over here in a minute..." Lightning stood up with her shopping bags in hand, and she began to wander off towards a table that stood in the more vacant part of the food court. "Let's get a place to sit."

Vanille tried not to hesitate, but when she felt a wide, warm smile cross her lips, she skipped up to her feet as well, carrying each of her red and green bags in either hand.

* * *

A bit of sunlight trickled down through the alleyways, but Hope didn't open his eyes to see it. His legs ached from so many days of wandering, and a chill wind had woken him up from a somewhat restful sleep, yet he merely growled to himself and curled up even tighter.

His mother wouldn't be there when he woke, not like the days when he'd fall asleep in a fresh snowfall, only to wake and see her watching the starlight, calling to the sky from afar. She'd once told him never to howl if he didn't need to, so her own voice had sounded so low, soft, and nearly silent... Just like a song.

Too many times he'd fallen headlong into the trap of thinking that she'd be there again, that he'd open his eyes to see a pale silver lycan in the snow, but he found only the damp asphalt and scraps of old cardboard boxes. And the part of him that still held a sharp sense of pride, it wanted to snarl and roar at those shadows from afar, those humans, nearly same as those who'd struck her down. He'd healed by then, hadn't he? He could go out and track down the ones who'd killed her, he could hunt them, follow them all in silence until he could just get close enough to strike...

A deep, lingering growl shook right through his lungs, and he bore his slender teeth against the fading sunlight. He'd heard both the whispers and shouts, the call for blood to be taken from every citizen in Gapra, and how some people were already leaving before it could even happen. If the wolf within his mind had been wiser, he himself would have been long gone by then, but his sense of injustice burned far brighter than fear. Or perhaps, as he should say, the wolf didn't care for fear. The human did.

Hope knew that they'd not dally with the needles this time, ones for testing his blood or otherwise, and the part of him that was truly human wished for nothing more than to shy away and hide, to keep himself alive, even if the wolf paced relentlessly back and forth, back and forth again, willing for him to lunge out and howl.

He kept his eyes shut tight. His upper lip curled further, before it slowly faded back against his teeth. When the rumbling sound of noisy cars and distant voices reached a sudden stilling point, if only for a moment, he almost thought that he could hear her music again.

* * *

Darkness fell upon the woodlands, yet Lightning only watched them from her window, listening to the sounds of a restless wind. She spared a quick glance to the side, where Fang was busy with wrapping up something on her desk.

"Hey, I told you..." Fang swatted at the air in Lightning's general direction. "No looking! Don't make me kick you out of your own room."

Lightning just rolled her eyes and glanced away. "Vanille's the one who'll kick you out of here; she wants to keep fighting dragons."

Fang kept working away with the wrapping paper and a bit of tape. "Dragons can wait, Yuletide won't... Think we could cook up some venison for it, maybe some elk? If we catch something, that is."

"For Yuletide dinner?" Lightning glanced out at the forest again. "I don't see why not; it should still be fresh by then."

"Then I'll try to pick up something special for it beforehand, maybe something to glaze it." Fang picked up a narrow box from one of the shopping bags, which she placed against a sheet of shiny foil paper. "Did you have fun today?"

Lightning fought the urge to look back at Fang. "Yeah."

"Just 'yeah'?" Fang turned in the desk chair to peer at the look on Lightning's face, something that ranged between calm contentment and a whole different matter entirely; there was a certain spark in her eyes, almost comparable to a patient, yet eager puppy who just kept gazing out at the world beyond, one who knew exactly what was out there waiting for her. "Or do you think you'll have more fun tomorrow?"

Lightning couldn't hide the slight twitch of her mouth, and though there were no sharpened canines between her lips, Fang knew that it would only be a matter of time before they'd both seeking out their chosen quarry, true predators at heart.

"I'll take that as a yes." Fang felt a slight bit of mirth in her heart, as if something was bubbling up inside, something that almost felt like joy. Could it truly be happening so soon? Could that very same haze that had taken her partner so very tightly into its grip, could it really be lifting away? "...I'm glad you're coming out there with us."

Lightning still didn't answer, but Fang caught a subtle flash of emotion in her eyes, which still remained fixed upon the window, perhaps to keep her from seeing what was on the desk, or perhaps it was also to keep watch over the distant woodlands. Fang knew that those deep instincts could all come rushing back all at once, drawing forth the wolf in a mix of utter diligence and protectiveness, a soldier from a mere civilian.

Fang curled a bit of ribbon against the edge of a pair of scissors. "Been a while since we hunted together, hasn't it?"

"Weeks." Lightning watched as the first few hints of moonlight began to appear on the horizon, filtering deep within the trees. "Too long."

Fang looked over at her again, and what she saw made her pause. Lightning was hardly ever one to show too much of what she was feeling, likely a survival trait picked up from having to navigate frightening situations, but there were some things that she just couldn't hide. And somehow, less than what she saw, Fang _felt_ it, just like the way she'd once felt as if Lightning was unlike anyone else she'd ever met before. There was just _something_ to the look in her eyes, the side of her that glimmered right through the fog of what she'd grown to become over so many lonely years. Fang felt it as if it was a sharp gale of wind before a steady rainfall, strong enough that she swore she could practicality smell it. In the back of her mind, she knew that it was a spirit gift.

She'd always been able to sense things, yet it was often more of a physical sense; if danger was approaching, she would sometimes get a feeling deep inside before any of her other senses could pick up on it, and while the same could be said for all lycans, Fang knew that her own abilities were especially keen. It was something different for everyone; Vanille could often hide her true emotions away from her own mind, stifling the wolf until she wanted it to appear, while Serah easily picked up on the nature of those they encountered, enough to save her family from more than a trap or two, but Lightning? For her, Fang wasn't entirely sure. She was strong, of course, and far faster than any lycan Fang had ever met, but the spirit gifts always seemed to manifest in a less bodily way.

"We've just got to let you live it up for a bit." Fang smiled at the way Lightning glanced at her, still avoiding the sight of the desk. "Seriously, Light... Every wolf needs to hunt."

She almost expected to hear those same three words again, the same denial of her inner self. Yet when Lightning merely looked back at the window once more, Fang felt her own expectations shrivel like a young leaf in the deadening chills of winter, which was somehow not as uncomfortable as it sounded.

"I suppose they do." Lightning stepped down from her chair as smoothly as a sheet of silk, before she walked over to rest against the edge of the bed. "We'll just have to see."

* * *

Beneath the light of a midday sun, Snow glanced at the directions on his phone for what was perhaps the hundredth time. Serah had told him to bring along a tarp in the trunk of his car, as well as something to hold his clothing in, which his eyes had promptly widened at, at least until he remembered what she really meant.

They'd spoken of it over dessert back on Thanksgiving; Fang had brought the topic up again, gently coaxing Lightning into making an actual agreement for the exchange, and now, near the height of the holiday season, they were all going to meet him a good distance beyond the city limits of Gapra, out in the wilderness of western Cocoon. And as Snow looked up at the city checkpoint, he wondered if it would always be so easy to leave and return as he pleased. Though he supposed that it was pointless to think about such things, for they would either happen or they wouldn't, with nothing that a single lycan could ever to do change it.

He drove out along the roads that reached off towards the suburbs, and then even beyond that, near the highway that led to the far east, but he didn't turn in that direction. No, he was moving south, towards the wide forests that speckled the great grasslands beside the sea, where Serah and her family would already be waiting for him.

And as Serah had written, it was a rather distinct landmark, all things considered. A sharp pillar of rock stood near the two mile turnpike sign beside the road, where Snow turned to drive out along on the grass. If he parked behind the rock, then his car would likely be well-hidden from sight, at least to those who weren't really looking for anything out of the norm. Snow did his best to conceal the vehicle there, before he moved to turn the engine off, taking just a moment to breathe.

It was really happening. He slowly closed his eyes, before he drew in a very deep breath. He'd really made friends with another lycan, and now her family... They were going to teach him how to be true to his other nature. He took another deep breath, but it nearly caught right in his throat when something _loud_ suddenly dropped against the roof of his car with a sharp, resounding thump.

Snow kept perfectly still for just a moment, before he carefully moved to open up the car door, enough to step out and look at whatever had fallen up there... Only they clearly hadn't fallen.

"Hi!" Her fur was such a deep orange in hue, nearly red, and her long winter coat almost seemed to flutter along in the wind. "I wanted to see if you were here yet."

"Vanille..." Snow immediately recognized her scent. "Why are you up there?"

Vanille flicked one of her ears to the side. "It's a lot easier to keep watch from up high." She turned to gesture at the tall rock with the point of her nose, before she leapt up to scrabble against the stony surface, climbing on up towards the top. "You should try it!"

Snow almost laughed at the sight of her, at how swiftly she managed to reach the very heights of the mighty boulder. "Yeah, maybe in a bit..."

"Oh, that's right." Vanille peered down at him from the edge of the rock. "We usually just find a spot in the woods to change... Bring your bag along, and just make sure you can track your scent back to it." She wagged her tail back and forth. "Light's already checking things out in the forest, Fang and Serah are just on the edge of the field." Vanille moved to sit upright, resting her hind limbs against the rock while her front paws gripped at the edge. "Just walk back out of the woods when you're done, okay? I'll show you where they are."

"Okay..." Snow eyed the top of his car, silently praying that it hadn't been scratched or dented. "Might not be a great idea to jump on that; you could slip and get hurt."

Vanille just wagged her tail again. "Don't worry, I won't!"

"Alright then..." Snow went to retrieve a small gym bag from the trunk, before he locked up the car with his remote key. "I'll be right back."

* * *

The world was utterly alive with pathways of scent, invisible trails in the woodlands that wound up and down and then back up again, over the tall ridges and dips in the ground. She was a mere blur of white, a speck of winter in the woods, and her nose drew in as much breath as she could possibly hold, tracking down whatever quarry she might find.

A faint scent of elk crossed near the edges of the forest, but Lightning knew that they needed something else to begin with, something smaller. She paused to sniff at a different sort of scent, the urine marking of a lynx near the base of a tree, but that sort of predator didn't matter very much to a lycan, nor a wolf.

Lightning lifted her head to feel for the direction of the breeze; it was far better to stay downwind, for a single scent of herself would send any prey animals into high alert. She soon moved on at a brisk pace, trotting silently against the damp, mossy earth, though she made sure to rub her shoulders against certain trees and rocks, just to give Fang a clear trail to follow.

She truly hadn't tracked anything like this in weeks, for a tiny vole was a mere pittance when compared to a larger creature, enough to make her blood run hot and send her heart dancing wildly against her chest. It began with just a steady trickle of adrenaline, a little something to make everything inside her feel sharper, honing her senses down to the land itself, to the pathways that stretched so far into the wilderness, off towards the true land of beasts.

Lightning knew that there was some part of herself that relished the thought of becoming fully wild, of living out there with Fang and the rest of her family, even if such a thing meant other sacrifices. No more conveniences, not truly, no cakes for birthdays or breakfasts for dinner, no grocery stores, shopping malls, no cozy diners or tiny corner stores. Perhaps a trading post or two, if they were lucky, but that was all there would be for miles. And miles they would likely go, ranging a territory that stretched far and wide, enough to drive off or ambush any threats that appeared, but yet again, at a cost.

She held no illusions about what such a future would mean. It would be peaceful, perhaps, and they'd all grow old and gray together in happiness, fading away once their days came to an end. There would be four less lycans in the world, a happy, yet forgotten legacy.

Lightning pinned her ears back at the mere thought of that. She might not have ever felt a desire for children of her own, but her own mother had spoken of their own bloodline as something to keep strong, to _protect_ , and the image of it dying off without anyone left to carry it on... Such a thought put a sour taste into her mouth. Their family could not be lost in such a way, not when the world might grow to someday accept their kind, perhaps enough to let them prosper, for in most areas of Cocoon, lycans were rarer than wild wolves.

And with those thoughts came a certain idea, just a tiny little concept. Perhaps it might not even come true, but Lightning realized that with her own current situation with Fang, that if in the future, if they were living off of the land, so far away from anyone, that they wouldn't be able to raise another young lycan like they'd done with both Serah and Vanille. Surrogate mothers, both of them, yet it had only happened by the way of a preexisting bloodline, or in Fang's case, luck. And Lightning's idea? Well, perhaps Serah would someday want to have children. Though Lightning knew for a fact that she would not even bring the idea up with Serah anytime soon, for in her own opinion, it was far, _far_ too early for her little sister to be thinking of such things, not when she was in the process of attending college courses, but someday, _perhaps_ it might just be considerable.

Yet there were other things to think about, to chase down across the land. Lightning put away her concerns of legacies and bloodlines, for she had a hunt to begin.

Her ears perked high at a certain sound on the breeze, and Lightning slowly opened her mouth, revealing those eager, deadly teeth.

* * *

If it was even a possible thing, Serah looked exactly as Snow had expected. She stood there with the same demeanor as her human form, slim and graceful, perhaps a little shy at first, but that was only because they'd never really known each other as lycans, not truly.

He almost felt at a loss. He just stood there while Vanille ran on ahead, if only to gaze at the way that the three of them all greeted one another, truly a family group. Fang would nip at Vanille's ears if she got a little bit too rambunctious, while Serah merely wagged her tail back and forth, yet when those soft golden eyes turned to peer at Snow, her tail suddenly stilled, before it slowly wagged once again.

Most of Snow's fur was rather the same shade as his hair, like soft sunlight on a pale wheat field, though his belly fur was just as white and spotless as his namesake. His shoulders, though, he had darker bands of color there and upon his upper back, which held a bit of a stripe against his spine, and the backs of both of his ears had that same dark hue, growing even darker as his fur reached the very top point.

"Glad you could make it." Fang was in the process of wrestling Vanille away from trying to nip back at her ears, perhaps in playful retaliation. "Light's already out looking for a scent... I had a quick sniff too, just to make sure we're alone out here." She looked Snow over, as if to see whether or not she approved of him, though she soon whistled quietly through her teeth. "You could take a bull elk down on your own, couldn't you?"

"Uh... You think so?" Snow wondered for a moment if there was often much of a size difference between male and female lycans, at least while they stood in smaller forms, for he was indeed quite large compared to the three of them. "Can't say I've ever gone up against an elk." He slowly sat down on his hind limbs, just so he didn't seem quite as imposing.

"Then you're in luck..." Fang batted at Vanille's face with one of her paws, keeping her away from biting at her ears. "Smelled a whole herd out here when I went hunting a while back; Light's probably already on the trail." She snarled rather playfully, and she suddenly flipped right over on her side when Vanille launched against her at full force, rolling and snapping at each other in the grass.

Serah wagged her tail at the sight of them. "They just get a little rambunctious sometimes..."

Snow almost thought to smile, and he opened his mouth slightly to covey it. "So... It's not weird for lycans to play around like that?"

"Oh, only if you don't know each other like they do." Serah gestured at the two of them with a small flick her tail. "They've known each other even longer than Light and I... We all met up back when we were pretty young, and we knew most of the etiquette already." She slowly walked closer towards Snow. "Here, I'll teach you."

Snow practically froze when Serah moved to sniff at the air beside his cheek, and he held his breath when she turned her own head to the side, not daring to do the same as she'd done.

"It's okay, it's like a handshake." Serah lifted a paw somewhat towards her face. "It works the same way; just sniff quickly if you don't know someone very well, or a few seconds if you do."

And as Snow quietly steeled himself to try and do so, he realized that his fur had been standing up on end, revealing the darker bands near his shoulders and neck. He exhaled, before he moved to silently sniff at Serah's cheek for just a moment, and then he leaned away.

"That's it, not so difficult..." Serah wagged her tail a bit quicker than before. "See, we'll teach you these things."

Fang called out from where she was wrestling around with Vanille. "Just don't go sniffing at anyone's ass!" She yelped out a loud laugh when Vanille's teeth caught against the fluff of her neck. "Doesn't matter if wolves do it... Light's right about one thing; we're not wolves, not like that!"

Serah likely would have blushed if she'd been in her human form. "Right, don't do anything like that." She sat down against the grass, before she sniffed again, though it was probably just to test the breeze. "We should get out of the field, guys... It's not safe."

Both Fang and Vanille began to slow down from biting and whacking their paws at each other, before they both stood up to shake out the dry grass from their fur, still trying to nip at each other's ears all the while, at least until Fang simply walked away.

"Right, off we go." Fang yawned as she trotted on into the woods, and even when Vanille tried to bite at the end of her tail, she simply ignored it in favor of moving beneath the trees. "Time to find Light... And you, Mister Jack Frost, you're gonna hang back on this first one to watch us at the job."

Snow almost chuckled. "'Jack Frost'... Almost feels like a coincidence." He looked over at Serah, who had also started to follow after Fang s well. "I think I finally came up for a name for our feline friend."

Serah quirked her ears expectantly.

"Frost, he's all gray and white like frost in a late winter..." Snow looked down at himself. "I know it's cliche to give a pet a name like your own-"

"No, it works." Serah nodded at him, though she had to hurry to keep up with Fang. "The poor little thing hasn't had a name all this time..."

Snow almost smiled to himself. "I don't think he minds it."

Vanille spoke up with a giggle in her voice. "I liked the pictures you took!"

Snow wagged his tail at her. "He's a photogenic one, isn't he?"

"Okay, kids..." Fang suddenly paused atop a small ridge in the earth, where she lifted her ears up high to signal for them to pay attention. "Chatting on a walk is all well and good, but once we get closer to Lightning, we've gotta be _quiet_ just in case she's tracking something down." She looked between the three of them, before her gaze slowly settled on Snow. "I know you don't know how we communicate in silent situations, but the golden rule is to just follow my lead and to stop whatever you're doing when I raise my ears at you." Fang lowered them again, then raised them up to show Snow exactly what it looked like. "It can also mean that I'm curious about something, but if I make eye contact with you, it means stop and pay attention."

"Alright." Snow sat down on the ground. "What else can you teach me?"

Fang shook her head. "I think that's about all you need for right now; you'll be _watching_ at first, not hunting." She looked over at Serah. "You still know your ins and outs of a chase, don't you?"

Serah rolled her eyes. "I'm not _that_ rusty..."

"Glad to hear it." Fang flicked her tail back and forth. "Right then, just follow behind me, but when I go like this..." She suddenly walked off to the side, then she lifted up the very point of her tail, just a slight curl. "No more talking when that happens; it either means there's prey ahead, or if we've got bad luck today, that I've spotted danger, which means we've gotta be _quiet_."

Vanille tried not to fidget or run on ahead. "Light's probably already caught something by now!"

"Alright, alright." Fang moved to slide herself down over the ridge, before she leapt out again to trot on all four paws, moving almost silently against the damp dirt. "Off we go, just stay close."

They moved on along the forest trails, the natural pathways that had once formed by ancient rivers and mighty glacial flow, over inclines and slopes that were home to so many different trees, an utter army of towering flora. Snow glanced around at them all, and he sniffed deeply at the earthen air, as if to try and recognize every scent he smelled, though his fellow lycans held most of his attention.

It was quick work to navigate the woods, and Fang soon slowed to a walk, before she slowly began to curl her tail. Snow paused just a few paces behind her, while Vanille and Serah lowered themselves as they crept ahead, carefully flanking Fang's approach from either side. There was a small sound, something so soft and distant, but as they crept along like mere specters through the undergrowth, a true ghost soon made itself known.

Lightning had cornered a doe. The beast stared her down with wide, unblinking eyes, and each gust of heavy breath snorted into a mist around those flared nostrils, though the creature did not run. An instinct, perhaps, or the knowledge that wolves scarcely ever attacked from the front, for doing so would likely result in a broken nose or a kick to wherever it hurt most, the face or chest, perhaps right in the jaw itself. An injured mouth could consume no food, and a wolf without food would inevitably die. But, Snow thought to himself, they weren't truly wolves.

Still, Lightning hesitated, standing there in such utter contrast to the woods. It was no small wonder that she'd snuck up upon the creature in such bare conditions, for with her pale fur, she stuck out like a sore thumb, a pure white upon such dark browns and grays. If there had been any snowfall, it would have been a whole different story, and as Fang slowly approached from behind the shivering doe, Lightning lifted her ears up and looked the creature straight in the eye.

It could not run. Running meant death, and fear would kill it far swifter than any leap it could take. Wolves relied on such fear, upon sending a herd of animals into an utter frenzy, _that_ was when they struck. It could not run, not when Lightning had fixed herself right between the only open space and a massive thicket of brambles, where a few shriveled green leaves still lingered, perhaps the final mistake that the doe ever made.

But the beast was still gambling, Snow knew that much, the doe knew it couldn't run, but it also knew that Lightning couldn't attack it headlong without risking an injury. A waiting game, sheer patience against hunger and fear, two iron wills locked together in a silent duel, for the doe's bet was placed upon the chance that Lightning was a lone wolf, that there would be no pack to arrive and outweigh the odds in her favor, even if such assumptions would swiftly be shattered by a rushing lunge from behind.

And they ran.

Fang leapt out with a force that Snow had never seen; her feet kicked against the ground like a springboard, as if she could suddenly fly, and her teeth had locked themselves down upon a soft tuft of blooded fur before Snow could even realize what was happening.

And just like that, he stood alone there in the undergrowth, while a clamor of dry leaves and brambles suddenly echoed out from afar. Snow blinked once, before he took off after them.

Fang had struck true, but the wild, panicked doe had wrenched itself free by way of a lost patch of fur and flesh, and it practically bowled out over Lightning in desperation to flee, though such action left it wide open to the pair of them racing behind. Snow could see them off in the distance, Fang leading the charge, yet Lightning kept a few paces behind, though for what reason Snow did not yet know.

It was strangely silent beneath the rumble of blood in his ears and his pounding heartbeat, for the crack of dry branches and the whoosh of dead leaves stood in sheer contrast to the cold, hollow forest, where no birds sang, nor did any insects chirp. There was only the wind, the sound of frantic hoofbeats, and the ragged panting of wolves.

And as it truly began, the swiftness of the chase slowly leveled out into something that Snow could actually track; Fang kept up at the doe's heels, while Lightning stayed a bit beyond her, and the sounds that Vanille and Serah made seemed to echo out from everywhere all at once, some sort of natural subterfuge. The snap of a branch, the thick rustle of a low shrub, it all resounded and grew as Fang kept hounding the doe down into turn after turn, leap after leap over huge fallen logs and dips in the terrain, until one finally stretched deep enough for a sure closure.

"Light!" Fang roared her words against the rush of air at her jaws. "Now!"

And Snow, for his somewhat lack of 'snowy' fur, finally realized why she had called herself Lightning.

It was as if they had all been at a crawl, as if nothing else existed until that very moment; she was a sudden arrow in the wind, a pale white bullet with grasping teeth, and Snow watched the way that her claws reached out as she leapt herself off into the air, grasping at that fuzzy hide, before her massive jaws struck true.

They toppled away into the slope, down, down, _down_ , rolling over and over again, and Lightning yelped so sharply when something seemed to strike against her back, perhaps a stray boulder, but she immediately latched her teeth back down into the flesh of the doe, even as it thrashed and struggled against her.

And then, all Snow could see was a blinding haze of fallen leaves, a hoof or two, and then suddenly a blur of deep orange and a shock of light beige, before three wolves had entered the fray, and then finally, with a deep crack of flesh and bone, a fourth saw fit to end it.

Lightning, with her muzzle soaked in blood, began to slowly lean away from the twitching doe, until she sank down to catch her breath again.

"You okay?" Fang's voice was just as hoarse and breathless. "You got hit..."

"Just a little." Lightning took a long moment just to breathe both in and out, before she craned her head around to lick at a shallow wound in her shoulder. "Didn't see the rock."

"Hm..." Fang gently nosed her way past Lightning's face to inspect the bleeding cut. "Better rest a while."

"Oh, Light!" Serah finished making sure the doe had indeed been felled by Fang's crushing bite to the throat, before she quickly walked up to Lightning's side. "Does it hurt?"

Lightning shook her head. "Adrenaline's still strong." Her voice sounded a bit winded, but she didn't protest when Serah pressed her forehead against her uninjured shoulder. "I'm okay, go have a bite to eat."

"But you're bleeding." Serah sat down beside her. "Looked like you fell pretty hard..."

Lightning exhaled, still breathing deep. "I've had worse."

Fang spoke up from where she'd been sniffing at the fallen doe. "It's a hunting wound, you're supposed to be proud of those." She opened her mouth just a bit to smile at them all, especially Vanille, who had immediately gone off to survey the surrounding area; a recent kill made a great amount of noise, and they couldn't truly relax to eat unless they'd made sure there were no nearby threats. "Anything there, Vanille?"

"Doesn't look like it." Vanille had climbed up a halfway fallen tree to examine the terrain around them, which stood near the base of the forested hill, the very same one that the doe had toppled down from. "I think we're good."

"That's good... Good job." Fang seemed to slow down for the first time since the hunt had finished, and she moved in to nip at the deep wound that she'd made at the deer's throat. "I'd say we should skin this, but I left my knife back with my stuff... We might get an elk skin later, at least." She turned back to look at Snow. "Ever tried raw venison?"

Snow slowly shook his head. "I don't think I've ever had deer before."

"Then you're in for a treat." Fang leaned forward again to rip and gnaw at the bleeding throat, and she didn't even pause when Vanille started to bite one of the back haunches. "Look at this, Snow."

Snow did as Fang asked, though he spared at glance at where Lightning had since shooed Serah away, who moved to join in with the kill as well.

"Nothing to really 'teach' about this part..." Fang bit back on the throat, dragging at the jugular, which oozed and weeped with so much dark, streaming blood. "Just grab what you can and then spit the fur back out." She did so just then, shaking it away from her mouth as she swallowed a bit of raw flesh. "Like eating a fuzzy steak, just without your hands."

Serah glanced back at Snow. "This, uh... It tastes a whole lot better while we're like this. Not human." She sniffed at the front limbs of the deer, though she looked over at Fang once more, watching the way that she walked over to inspect Lightning's wound again. "Like Fang said, you just pull the meat off, or crack the bones later on... That's all there really is to it."

Snow almost chuckled when Vanille suddenly ripped back at the flesh of the hind flank, though he did feel a slight swell of unease at the sight of such bloodshed; it wasn't as if he hadn't seen it before, but for such a seemingly innocent young woman... She sure had a way of quickly making the most out of a kill.

"You okay, Vanille?" Serah soon spoke between bits of fur and torn deerskin. "You must be really hungry to go right into it like that..."

"Yeah." Vanille's voice sounded a bit muffled from around the doe's ankle, which she kept tugging and wrestling with, until it finally came looser by the highest joint. "Snow, you gonna eat?"

Snow realized that he had just been staring at the fallen animal, and he slowly leaned in to sniff at the throat wound, before he took a small lick of the oozing blood. He paused again, for he realized that Serah was watching him, as if in anticipation. Was it something important? Should he be doing it differently?

"Is it good?" Serah spoke in a much softer tone, like a low whisper in the trees. "A lycan who's never had deer before... It's almost hard to imagine."

Snow slowly moved his mouth to bite at a patch of the raw flesh, before he tugged back, letting the sudden rush of instincts take control over his full strength. While that more primal part of him, the part that sometimes flared up and would only go quiet again if he somehow managed to calm himself, while it did indeed seem to have reached out to grasp at his very jaw, for some reason, Snow wasn't afraid. _Serah_ was there, and Serah wasn't scared of the wolf; she _was_ one. She wouldn't shy away from Snow's more feral side, not when she herself had already tucked down into her own share of the kill.

"It's good..." Snow breathed his words against a blooded throat, a throat that would breathe no more. "It's really, really good."

* * *

They moved out over the plains by late afternoon, carrying bags of clothes and supplies.

Lightning took point, as if to prove that her injury was of no hindrance to her ability to lead. She soon sniffed out the trail of the massive elk herd, where they all paused to ready themselves for a far larger hunt than before.

"Now, with elk..." Fang stood there with a satchel slung over her neck and shoulders, even though she was still within her wolflike from. "Sometimes it's easier to just go full lycan on them, scares them right into tripping over themselves, but then you run the risk with anyone watching the wildlife from afar..." She exhaled in slight annoyance. "Usually better for them to think we're just wolves."

Lightning licked off a bit of residual blood from her mouth, though her eyes still gleamed with the desire to hunt, for she was not quite sated on the flesh of the deer. She began to speak of such things with the rest of them, words that Snow tried his best to follow, but Fang kept insisting that only instinct would be best to guide him, not instructions on how to properly chase down an elk.

And when the time finally came, when Snow suddenly stood tall upon the peak of a grassy hill, gazing down over so many mighty creatures... He felt a stirring sensation so deep in his blood, something forgotten, or perhaps undiscovered up until that very moment in time. He looked over at Serah, at the warmth in her eyes, and he suddenly wished that he could do as many kindnesses to her as she had done for him, for teaching him what it meant to be a true lycan, at least at the most basic level.

There was something in her eyes that spoke of friendship, perhaps even kinship, and Snow knew that it had never burned brighter when he ran so swiftly beside her, chasing down those thunderous beasts, racing after the elk on the plains.

Lightning took the lead, though she soon fell in next to Fang. They sprinted tirelessly, as if hand in hand, running together, until their teeth finally stuck their mark, until the dust settled yet again in the wake of a massive, dusty crash, until Fang the chance to teach Snow how to skin an elk from the belly up towards the chest.

"You always want to get at the tenderloins, right in here..." Fang was using her hooked hunting knife, for she had since taken on her larger lycan form, using her hands to grip the handle of the blade and pull it up like a zipper against the elk's abdomen. "You can use the bones, too, for carving, or you can break them open for the marrow."

Lightning merely rested beside them, watching out over the plains as Vanille scouted on ahead to make sure they were truly alone, though she still saw how Serah was helping to hold up one of the hind limbs of the elk with her teeth, near to where they'd opened the tarp. Only Fang had taken on her full lycan form; it was much safer that way, just in case anyone spotted them out in the open. Yet Lightning also noticed the way that Serah kept glancing at Snow, wagging her tail whenever he began to learn something new about the art of cleaning a kill... And something in Lightning's stomach began to twist. Even then, Snow still felt like such a stranger, but she knew she would just have to trust in Serah's judgment.

"Okay, now the golden rule..." Fang spoke those words once they were nearly finished, having packed up the elkskin and several packages of meat from the tarp into their traveling bags. " _Never_ leave any sign of a kill left behind." She gave Snow a long, steady look right in the eyes. "Seriously, you ever wonder why they've been getting so worked up about those blood tests back in town? Leave no trace, and they won't be knocking on your door for it."

Lightning almost wanted to smile at that. At least Fang was still so diligent, so strong and keen, a nearly peerless hunter. Something almost felt as if it had grown alive inside her heart when she'd leapt on ahead, back there with the doe, something that stirred up and lingered within her mind when Fang had called for her, trusting her to take that first strike, synergized within such a rapid chase. And it wasn't as if hunting the elk hadn't been exciting, but the swiftness of a doe, matched with the raw, relentless persistence of a lycan pack... _Pack_. She slowly closed her eyes. They _were_ being a pack, weren't they? And even with Snow, a true stranger at heart, she almost felt comfortable enough to call the rest of her family that, at least for the rest of the day.

And later on, in the evening, when they'd all retreated towards the woods to change back into human forms, donning clothes and carrying separate shares of the elk meat, when Lightning found herself resting in the back seat of a car, she felt something rather strange cross over her mind. Though it still seemed as if something had awakened inside of her, reaching out with such lithe, eager limbs to grasp at those first few rays of sunlight, the world around her had already grown so dark, and she almost found herself falling asleep.

But they were all still speaking together, often laughing while Snow drove them home, and something else that felt so odd slowly began to occur to Lightning. How long had it been since her blood raced in her veins like wildfire, since she'd raced across the land like her namesake, striking fear into the hearts of her prey? How many years had slipped by since she lived like a true lycan, a predator in the boundless wilds? The answer was floating somewhere inside a haze of faded adrenaline and the exhaustion of running so very far, and as she slowly leaned to the side, resting her head against Fang's shoulder, Lightning realized that she truly didn't care to know.

* * *

The days moved on in a slow blur of cold bitter winds and indoor work. The packaging department was indeed a bit more sheltered than the open harbor, and Lightning found that she could talk a lot more with Fang when she only had to tape boxes together and fill them with goods instead of hauling crates around across the docks.

"Poor Vanille..." Fang had taken a brief moment to gaze out from one of the windows of the packaging office. "She's gonna be heartbroken if it doesn't snow by Yuletide."

"I wouldn't give up yet." Lightning paused to tie up a parcel in a thick length of twine, before she placed it down inside a far bigger box. "Sometimes it doesn't snow until the eve, or even later than that... We'll just have to wait and see"

Fang made a small sound of disappointment in the back of her throat. "It's _supposed_ to snow before then."

"I don't have much say in what mother nature chooses." Lightning rolled her eyes when Fang sighed in a more dramatic fashion. "Yeah, let me just turn on my magic weather machine..."

Fang slowly waggled her eyebrows at Lightning. "Gonna make it storm on us?"

Lightning just rolled her eyes again.

"Well, like you said..." As Fang started to sort through a pile of letters, she glanced somewhat wistfully at the window again, at the open, empty sky. "We'll just have to see."

* * *

It was on a certain night, a cold, dark night, it was while she was wrapped up in a blanket with a warm glass of mulled cider nearby, it was on that night, the very eve of Yuletide that Fang wrote out a letter of her own.

 _Mum and dad, hope you're both doing well._

 _I've been pretty good lately. If you haven't gotten my other letters, then this won't make much sense, but... The woman who I used to travel with, my other friend and I met up with her and her sister again. We found them somewhere near the sea, living here in a place of their own. Even if it was a little rocky at first, she's actually doing pretty well for herself, no matter what else she says about it._

 _Sometimes I wish you guys had told me more about what it's like to be in love. I know I wasn't really old enough back then to understand it, and that I took off before I could get there... Sometimes I just don't know what I'm really feeling inside. But sometimes I do. She just looks at me like there's no one else she'd rather be looking at, and I never want to be away from her when it happens. It sounds so damn cliche, I know, but it really does feel like that._

 _I just hope I'm doing the right thing tonight... What if she doesn't really feel the same way? We've been girlfriends in a more official way for a while now, but even before that, we were really, really close. I'll just have to trust myself, or 'trust my guts', like you guys used to say._

 _I wish I could put a return address on this, just in case you do get to read it, but you know how things are around here... My other companion and I, we actually went back to Gran Pulse for a while, but we didn't get nearly far east enough to run into where I used to live with you. We just missed our friends too much to stay there for long. Maybe I'll come back someday, and maybe you can meet the four of us. I love you guys. Even if I took off pretty quickly back then, I know now that there really was a reason... I needed to find them._

 _Again, I love you, and I'd put my name down if I could. I wish I could tell you their names, too. Happy Yuletide, even if this letter gets to you in spring, or next year, or the next after that... I hope you guys are having fun._

Fang drew a smiley face beside the final line, before she reached over for a deep sip of the mulled cider. "Love you guys..." She slowly folded up the stationary, a piece from the same set that she'd been given on her birthday, before she tucked it away into an envelope.

The hallway was all aglow with the light of the Yule tree, which was tucked right into the corner beside the couch. Presents had long since been nestled there beneath the evergreen boughs, wrapped up in colorful paper and ribbons. Near the window, Vanille had her nose pressed right up to the glass, as if in wait for the eventual snowfall, while Serah and Lightning seemed more than content to sit there on the sofa, watching a holiday movie on the little television.

"Hey." Fang sat down on the couch to pull on her shoes, before she nodded at nothing in particular. "I'll be back soon."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the sound of that. "The eve of Yuletide, and you're going out..?"

"I won't be long, I just have a letter to send." Fang lowered her voice with a slight hum. "And there's one other present out there for you, Light, one that hasn't been finished until now."

Lightning didn't reply, for Serah had given Fang a rather sly look instead.

"Out of the gutter with you, missy!" Fang clicked her tongue at Serah in reprimand. "There's a couple presents over there that I could always hide away until you behave."

Serah stifled a giggle against the back of her wrist. "What if I sniffed them out?"

"Then I'd toss them in the woods..." Fang walked over to get her jacket from the coat rack. "Or I'd give them away to nice young ladies who don't assume the worst of their friends."

Serah just shrugged, glancing back over at the television.

But Lightning didn't turn her attention away from Fang, and she stood up to follow her, to speak with her in the front hall. "It's more dangerous out there at night." She spoke in a quieter tone, so much that neither Serah or Vanille would likely overhear her. "Is this really important?"

Fang slowly took one of Lightning's hands into her own, and she gently brushed across each of her knuckles with her fingertips. "More important than a whole lot of things."

"Just be careful then, keep an eye on yourself." Lightning leaned up to press a quick kiss against Fang's cheek. "And be back soon, like you said."

"I will." Fang reached up to stroke one of Lightning's cheeks with her thumb, before she kissed her as well, brief, yet not quite chaste, and she whispered so softly against her mouth. "Love you."

Lightning felt a sharp breath shiver right through her lungs; the world around her was so warm all of a sudden, yet Fang was about to roam away somewhere very cold. "...Love you."

"Won't be long." Fang kissed her once more upon the cheek. "I'll even ask the northern gods to make it snow for Vanille."

Lightning exhaled quietly, almost a laugh. "Good luck with that."

And Fang turned, smiling, before she unbolted the chain lock on the door, and then stepped out into the frigid winter night. Her footsteps echoed against the balcony, and then the stairs, before she felt her shoes touch down upon the pavement of the parking lot. Dark clouds loomed far up above, illuminated by the city lights, but not a single flake of white had yet fallen upon the ground, and there was still no sign that anything else would hasten the process.

Fang narrowed her eyes at the sky. "Come on... Just an inch or two, won't hurt to let it snow a little."

But the clouds remained utterly silent, so Fang wandered off into the streets, where she soon found a seat upon a city bus, journeying out on the lifeline of those who lived without vehicles of their own, until she reached a rather industrious post office. It was easy enough just to buy a stamp for the letter and write down the address, printing the name of a trading post that her first family used to frequent, though she still had no idea if her parents had ever gotten any of the other letters she'd once sent.

And with the envelope tucked away into a mail deposit, Fang ventured back towards the plazas of Gapra, beneath the sparkling lights of the Yuletide celebrations. She passed by the stores that had already closed up for the night, lonely little places with darkened displays and inactive holograms, until she finally reached the center of a certain little shop, one with only a single employee left for the night.

"Wasn't sure if you'd make it." Her fellow lycan pushed a small parcel across the counter even before Fang had approached. "I need to close up for the night... But here it is."

Fang reached into her jacket pocket for another envelope, as well as the small wallet that she'd once carved out of leather and woven with cloth. She soon had a rather large amount of paper bills in her hand, which she pushed down inside the spare envelope. "Happy Yuletide."

The other lycan nodded as she accepted the concealed bills. "I'd better not see you in here again, no refunds for freelance work."

"Ah." Fang laughed, just a sharp breath of air. "You won't... Count on it."

* * *

The hunting wound had already started to scab over, but it still throbbed far more than any scratch had a right to. Lightning winced when a soft, gentle touch brushed right over it with ointment, though she merely closed her eyes while the stinging sensation began to fade. It was so late in the night, far beyond the normal hours when they'd both be fast asleep, but Lightning had waited up for Fang to return.

"I knew you wouldn't want me to fuss over this in front of everyone..." Fang murmured an apology as she pressed a gauze bandage down against Lightning's wounded shoulder blade, securing it there with a bit of medical tape. "Doesn't stop me from worrying."

"It's already healing up." When the process was done, Lightning slowly rolled over so that she was resting on her side. "So, you sent your letter..."

"Yup." Fang soon settled down as well. She placed the ointment and bandage materials upon her bedside table, before she reached up to turn off the lamp light. "And I got _you_ your present."

Lightning turned over in the dark, and she moved to cuddle up against Fang, fabric to fabric, skin to skin, until they'd intertwined their hands in between the both of them. "No hints about what it is?"

Fang slowly shook her head. "No hints."

"Hm..." Lightning closed her eyes, and she began to breathe slow and deep. "I suppose I'll have to wait for it, then."

Fang hummed as she pulled Lightning closer, hugging steadily around her chest. "Patience, love."

Lightning grumbled a bit, but she soon fell very still, almost enough to fade off into the realm of slumber.

Yet in time, Fang's voice was less than a murmur in the shadows. "Thank you."

Lightning opened her eyes again. "What..? What for?"

"For having us here." Fang nuzzled her face beside Lightning's forehead, against those rosy pink locks, breathing in the warm, natural scent of a fellow lycan. "For being so good to us."

And in the darkness, Lightning felt as though her own mouth had thinned into a somewhat amused line, before she snuck in a single, mirthful smile, hiding it there beside Fang's cheek.

* * *

A steady silence took hold of the morning air, but within the bounds of a certain apartment, one sound stood out above the rest. Lightning woke to it, to those soft, gentle breaths against the nape of her neck, and she let her eyes drift open to peer at the morning sun from the window, but instead of snowcapped trees and falling flakes of white, the world remained a rather steadfast blend of faded browns, of dull grays and evergreens.

Fang mumbled something in her sleep, before her arms began to gently squeeze around Lightning's waist, drawing her in for a rather drowsy cuddle.

"Damn." Lightning closed her eyes again, and she sighed at the clear lack of snowfall. "It really is a late winter..."

Fang stirred slightly in her dozing state. "Hmm?"

"Nothing." Lightning began to relax again, melding back into the sheer warmth of Fang's embrace, all snuggled up under the layers of blankets and sheets. "Just hasn't snowed yet."

It took a moment for Fang to wake up enough to answer coherently, and even then, her words were rather slurred with slumber. "Mother nature's a fickle bitch..."

Lightning would have rolled her eyes if she cared to spend the effort of opening them again. But no, not on a holiday, not when it seemed like if the two of them might actually get just a few more blessed hours of sleep before Vanille woke up and dragged everyone out to open presents.

Fang stirred again. "What time is it?"

"Too early." Lightning tried not to yawn, but the urge quickly overwhelmed her, and she slowly leaned in to hide her face against Fang's shoulder, cuddling there in search of her warmth. "I told Vanille, no earlier than six..."

"She'll be out there knocking on your door just as soon as it happens." Fang yawned as well, and she circled her arms back around Lightning's waist, just a gentle little grip. "Might as well try to wake up..."

Lightning shook her head. "Too early."

"The early bird catches the worm." Fang's nose began to wrinkle at the thought of a breakfast of worms, even if such things were often the only easy source of protein in more meager situations. "Or catches someone under the mistletoe..."

"We didn't hang any." Lightning slowly leaned back to press her forehead against Fang's upper cheek, where she kissed at her jawline for a long, quiet moment. "You _really_ want to wake up?"

"Hm..." Fang smiled at the warmth of Lightning's mouth. "Maybe a few more kisses could convince me."

Lightning pecked at the height of Fang's cheekbone, before she whispered softly in her ear. "Sounds like a raw deal to me."

"Not the only thing that's feeling a little raw around here..." Fang's voice rumbled with a low hum. "No mercy for me, eh?"

"Only when you deserve it, when you don't run out on me in the middle of the night." Lightning leaned back again, and her tousled pink hair fanned out against the pillow, so rosy and soft with the scent of a recent shower. "Yuletide, huh?"

"Yuletide." Fang smiled as Lightning leaned in to kiss her again. "Good morning, Light..."

Lightning hummed so quietly against her mouth, though she went almost silent when Fang slowly began to deepen it. They often kissed in such a way, but hardly ever in the morning; it was more than easy to let the warm little flicks and caresses overpower their better judgment, though Fang took the pace more than slow, gently savoring the tiny sounds in the back of Lightning's throat, hitched there by stolen breaths and little nibbles against her bottom lip.

"A little early for this..." Lightning's tone sounded far more in agreement with her mouth than her own words, for it had grown rather low and husky, almost short of breath, yet it was still just as soft as those pale locks of hair. "We really should get out of bed."

"Thought it was too soon?" Fang moved to stroke of her hands up and down the curve of Lightning's spine, and she felt the soft little goosebumps that began to speckle across her skin. "Or are you eager to open up a few presents of yours?"

"Maybe I just want to make sure that Vanille doesn't pass out from anticipation." Lightning smiled with just the smallest hint of mischief in her eyes. "She's probably up and about already..."

Fang sighed in slight contentment, even when Lightning moved away to sit up against the pillow. "What about Serah?"

"She might even be awake too." Lightning yawned, just a silent little gesture, before she reached out to push the blankets away from herself. "If not, then we can get breakfast started."

"Shouldn't we do that after presents?" Fang sighed at the sudden lack of warmth at her side, though she didn't reach out to try and draw Lightning back towards the sheets. "Hm... But you are the boss."

Lightning nearly scowled at her. "I'm not the boss."

Fang smiled at that, before she sighed, and then hoisted herself up to sit upon the bed. "Whatever you say, boss."

As she turned to glance at the doorway, Lightning sounded as if she'd cussed something under her breath.

"Hey, it's gonna be fun." Fang leaned over to rest her chin against Lightning's shoulder, murmuring each word against her cheek. "I think you'll like what I got you..."

Lightning felt a deep shiver run down her spine when Fang kissed the curve of her jaw.

"First Yuletide we've had in a place like this." Fang hummed when Lightning reached back to tangle a hand through her thick mane of hair. "Let's make it special, yeah?"

"Yeah." Lightning turned to share a single, fleeting breath between them, and she felt the warmth of that beautiful mouth, the gentle touch of a clever tongue, darting almost playfully against her lips. "Fang..."

"Right, right." Fang yawned as she leaned back to clamber across the bed, where she stepped down upon the floor, just far enough to stretch her arms out above her head. "Off we go?"

They found Vanille fast asleep at the kitchen table; perhaps she'd woken up a few hours earlier in search of a morning snowfall, even if none such thing would appear.

"Hey, kiddo." With another yawn, Fang gently began to shake Vanille's shoulder. "Happy Yuletide."

Vanille mumbled something in her dozing state, but when Fang nudged her shoulder again, she slowly began to open her eyes. "Wha..?

"Good morning." Lightning had already started to heat two mugs of mulled cider in the microwave, and she'd since walked over to start up the oven for a long, steady day with their recent boon of elk meat. "Want to help me with this?"

Vanille soon roused herself to a more conscious state, where she promptly skipped over to peer out from the window.

"Sorry." Fang sat down at the table with a quiet sigh. "Just not in the cards this year."

"...It's okay." Vanille put on her very best smile, and she stepped over to help Lightning with the process of glazing the elk meat, readying it for nearly an entire day in almost the lowest heat of the oven. "We just have to spread it on, right?" It was an old recipe from Fang's own father, one that he used to use when he didn't have much time to tend to a meal for more than a single sitting, so he'd simply leave it there to cook all day and then come back later for a tasty dinner; though Lightning had later amended the recipe by taking the meat out halfway and placing it back into the refrigerator for a while, just to let the flavors enhance themselves in the glaze before she put it back inside the oven to cook again. "Oh, this smells really good..."

"Fang picked it up the other day-" Lightning swatted one of Vanille's hands away from a small glass jar, though she had already gotten out a slight dab of the honeyed glaze. "Don't stick your fingers in that!"

Vanille just giggled, and she hurried to taste the glaze before Lightning could even tell her to go wash it off.

"Hm. Think Serah's up yet?" Fang smiled when Lightning moved to give her one of the heated cider mugs. "Might just have to wait."

And they did wait, at least until the elk meat was securely inside of the oven to start cooking beneath the low heat. Serah appeared on her own, and while she looked more than a bit drowsy due to the early hour of the day, she merely smiled and hugged each of them, careful not to brush her hands against the wound on Lightning's shoulder blade.

And later on, there beneath the tiny tree, wrapped up in blankets and settled low beside the couch, it grew high time to hand out their gifts to one another.

Lightning smiled when both Serah and Vanille opened up the packages of thick winter pajamas, the very same kind that Fang had proven to be rather resistant to lycanthropic tendencies. Vanille giggled at the little designs on the pajamas she'd been given, cutesy cartoon characters with colorful designs, while Serah smiled when she saw the vibrant mix of swirls and abstract images on her own, like a painting placed upon the fabric.

"Ah, now look at _this_..." Fang nearly beamed at a box of orange chocolate candy, and she promptly opened it up to taste one. "This one's from you, Light?"

Lightning nodded. "I knew how you liked them, back then."

"Here then, this one." Fang handed over an unopened gift to Lightning. "Saw it the other day and thought of you."

Lightning soon peered down at a clear plastic case full of what looked like tiny jelly candies; they'd been cast into the shape of pink roses, with a delicate white frosting drizzled upon each of the edges. "It's actually... Really beautiful."

"Almost a shame to eat." Fang glanced up when Vanille handed her another new present, and she gave out a bit of the orange chocolate in return. "Let's see what this is." She soon grinned at a dark bottle of pomegranate syrup, perfect for pouring upon ice cream or as a component of salad dressing, or even as they'd done just a brief while before, for glazing meats. "Haven't tried much in the way of pomegranate, but this looks real good..."

Vanille smiled at her. "Maybe we can try it on elk next time."

"Sure can." Fang turned the bottle over to examine the writing on the back. "Just like molasses, eh?"

Serah had kept quiet for a long while, but when Lightning placed a gift into her hands, she smiled warmly as well. "What could be in this one..?" She held it up before her eyes; the present was something utterly flat, likely wrapped in much more paper than whatever it contained inside. "What is it, Light?"

"Open it." Lightning paused to take a small sip of her mulled cider, though a smile showed through her eyes when Serah carefully unwrapped the paper. "It's a promise."

"Oh..." Serah's eyes flicked back and forth over the written agreement. It stated in rather brief terms that the document was indeed worth a single promise in the future, a future when they might live under different conditions, under the rules of no landlord, when Lightning would be free to help Serah pick out a cat or a kitten of her own to adopt, though the terms also stated that the four of them must all be in good standing with the creature before anything could become official. "And here I thought it was a goldfish."

Lightning felt the first few hints of a laugh flickering inside her chest. "A very _flat_ goldfish."

Serah smirked at that. "Fish sticks?"

Fang chuckled quietly at the both of them. They'd been going over gifts throughout the entire morning, and while there were still a few left to unwrap, Fang herself still had a certain something that was safely tucked away inside her jacket pocket, something that quickly made her stomach start to feel like it was wrapped up in knots. That damnable fluttering, she mused, for why was it always whenever she needed it most that her confidence ran so thin? She could usually ease her way right through almost anything, blunt, snarky and direct, but such an insincere approached seemed... Somehow not enough, at least for what she had in mind.

Vanille soon unwrapped a pair of thick winter gloves, courtesy of Lightning, always one for practicality. Would it be true then, that she'd appreciate a more practical approach? But that felt downright _dishonest_... Lightning wasn't threadbare when it came to her emotional matters, yet neither was she overly sappy, and that made for a difficult line to balance, easily tipped right over the edge by one slip up or another.

Fang slowly steeled herself; she knew that neither of them were lovesick teenagers anymore, those who'd followed after the first few hints of inner feelings towards whatever felt good between them. No, they had grown up since then, and Lightning had gone far beyond hinting at that point, at least by her own vague standards.

 _Do it_ _ _now__ _,_ Fang told herself, _go and get it out of your jacket and give it to her like a damn lycan, not some whimpering coward._ But no matter how many times she scolded herself for staying locked right where she was, she just didn't know if it was truly the right time or not.

Presents came and went, and Fang even opened a few more of them for herself, yet it was only when they were nearly finished that Vanille dared to glance at the windowsill. And just like that, she was gone.

"Vanille?" Serah almost sounded a bit startled. "Where are you going? Hey..." She stood up to follow after her, before a gasp caught her right there in her own throat, and she too hurried on out towards the front door.

"Hm." Fang slowly began to smirk, for she'd also caught the sight of a single snowflake resting upon the windowpane. "Think we waited long enough?"

Lightning gave her a rare smile, bright and almost unrestrained.

Fang nearly followed her right there and then, but she soon paused within the hallway to grab her jacket and pull it on, even when Lightning had already wandered out towards the balcony, where Vanille practicality squealed in delight and raced on down towards the stairwell.

"Don't trip..." Lightning's eyes widened when Vanille nearly slipped upon the fresh layer of powdery snow, but she seemed to catch herself halfway down the stairs. "Vanille!"

"I'm okay!" Vanille hit the ground running, and she quickly twirled herself around, gazing up into the falling snow. "It's here, Light!"

Lightning sighed almost silently, before she moved to rest her forearms against the balcony. "I can see that." She watched the way that Serah descended down the stairwell at much slower pace than Vanille, yet they both soon laughed and started to run after each other, racing all around in the gathering snow. "Just don't get in the way of anyone."

While the parking lot seemed rather empty and silent in the early noon, a few of their distant neighbors had also wandered outside to peer at the snowfall, some of which had children who called out and ran off to play upon the ground floor.

"About time it happened." Fang's voice drifted in from somewhere behind her, and Lightning almost shivered when a warm, soft kiss was pressed right against the curve of her neck. "Not gonna run around and dance with them?"

Lightning rolled her eyes at that, yet she couldn't even hope to hide her smile. "I think my dancing days still need a little more time."

"You look good." Fang moved to lean against the balcony as well, before she reached up to gently stroke Lightning's cheek. "You look... Alive. Vitalized."

Lightning felt the slightest bit of color paint her face, though she told herself that it was just from the chill.

"Seriously, Light, you _needed_ the past week or so..." Fang let her voice drop to a whisper. "It's still a long road ahead of us, but at least we're moving together again."

"Together." Lightning smiled once more, and she turned to peer down at those who still raced all around to play within the winter winds, jumping about and tossing handfuls of snow. "We'll do this together."

With that said, Fang's eyes began to widen by the slightest degree. While Lightning wasn't looking, she knelt aside to gather up as many snowflakes as she could, and when she had managed to gain about a handful of the loose powder, Fang squeezed it all down into a vaguely rounded shape, before she reached for something else from inside her jacket pocket.

Yet when Lightning finally looked back over at Fang, she paused at the sudden sight of a pale, tiny heart made from snowflakes, held right there within the palm of Fang's hand.

"Happy Yuletide, Light." Fang slowly moved to place the little heart into Lightning's grip. "...You won't do it any harm if you look inside."

Lightning gave the clump of snow a look that Fang had rarely ever seen, a hint of genuine curiosity, perhaps confusion, at least until she began to gently pry the snow away, revealing what awaited within. And when she held it there, enough to feel the chill of the winter air against her skin, among those last few remnants of powdered frost...

It was a ring, a sturdy band forged of two twin metals. They were bound together, black titanium and pale steel, made into a single linked loop that swirled off to end in two faces... The faces of wolves, a pair of whom gazed out towards the same direction, but their faces only met each other from cheek to cheek, both facing opposite ends of the ring. The wolf with a paler hue, it had two little aquamarine crystals for eyes, while the darker beast held such small, glittering circles of deep jade, and indeed, it looked to be the very picture of Fang.

"You like it?" Fang's voice was far softer than Lightning had ever heard before. "This is... It can be whatever you want it to be." She slowly lifted something else from her coat pocket, and she pressed it down into Lightning's other palm, only for it to be revealed as different ring, one of an almost identical nature, merely inverted. "It can be just a gift between two girlfriends... Or a promise for more someday, or-"

"Something else." Lightning slipped the first ring against her own finger, before she reached out for Fang's hand, silently placing the other band upon one of her slender digits. "A different promise?"

Fang soon flexed her fingertips, feeling the bottom end of the band. It almost felt like a flat metal chain, a mechanism that could extend upon internal pressure; for instance, if she was to change into her most massive form right then and there, no matter how ridiculous it would be to do so on the balcony, the ring would not break apart, nor would it hurt her finger, no, it would merely adjust to fit itself with whatever width it needed to, at least within reason. She knew that Lightning's ring had been forged in the exact same flexible manner, a special request towards a fellow lycan...

But Lightning seemed far more occupied with leaning in to kiss her, so that lone thought went right out the window, or the open balcony, as it was. Fang suddenly exhaled, shivering from anything but the cold, and she reached up to stroke the soft curves of Lightning's cheekbones, holding her face from either side. The warmth of her mouth, those languid little breaths stolen between them, Fang's mind spun far faster than the snowflakes could fall, and she almost reached out to steady herself against the railing.

And even when Lightning finally broke away for a greater amount of air, she immediately leaned forward to rest their foreheads against each other. "...Happy Yuletide, Fang."

Fang wrapped her arms around Lightning's waist, before she slowly closed her eyes, smiling far brighter than she had smiled in so many, _many_ weeks.


End file.
